Serrator's Plan
by Lily Hanson
Summary: Follows Game Night - Serrator's got a plan. He's always got a plan. Even when the Rangers think he lost, he's still got a trick up his sleeve.
1. Silenced

Disclaimer: I do not own Power Rangers: (Super) Samurai. This is purely fan-made.

Since they had rediscovered all the pools of water that had surfaced in the forest and in the city while they had been away, the Samurai knew they needed to cover them all up. They couldn't have another accident like the one they had with Storm, and they couldn't risk people stumbling into the poisonous water and getting hurt or killed because of it.

The city had discovered some of the puddles and they knew it was bad, so they did their best to cover it up themselves. Serena and Emily still went on a walk to make sure they were hidden away properly, but for the most part, the city knew how to take care of itself.

They were in a construction zone, just the two of them. Deciding they would make a day of it, and try to get as much sister bonding as they could, they left the others to take care of the house. Antonio was feeling better, but still needed someone to help with day to day tasks. Storm needed to be looked after. Terran always needed a watchful eye looking over him. Just that did require an entire team of Samurai on alert.

Like a lot of other places in town, the construction zone had been abandoned. With Nighlok attack destroying the city, and Megazord battles not doing much to help, getting new buildings up was pointless and a giant waste of money. And with so many people fleeing the city for safety, there was really no demand for the city to continue growing. The population had taken such a nosedive, and tourists were less and less common, it was any wonder there were still people around. A few brave souls kept this place from turning into a complete ghost town.

Though, really, with Nighlok attacks occurring frequently, most people couldn't afford to sell their homes and move away.

Emily walked across a long wooden board, terrified to even think about what would happen if the board dipped too much, or were to just snap. The city had used it to cover up a pool of water, but the wooden board could easily be destroyed by the Sanzu Water. One touch, and the entire thing could light up in flames.

Despite that, there were wooden boards everywhere. Avoiding them would be like trying to avoid walking on the ground. Because not many people came to old construction zones, the city didn't need to do much to cover up the waters, but Serena and Emily thought differently. Nighlok could feed on this water and live for ages without ever drying up and returning to the Netherworld. Given how many times Nighlok dehydration had saved them, the Samurai didn't want to take away that one flaw the Nighlok all had in common. They needed these pools to be covered completely.

"Symbol power: rock," it was Emily's turn to trace a symbol while Serena kept an eye on the surroundings and the Samuraizer, which was littered in little red dots, indicating pools. Serena couldn't see anything but red.

After Emily buried one of the pools, she got off the wooden board and lifted it up, revealing another. Standing on her new ground, she turned to Serena, "Your turn."

"Symbol power: rock," Serena dropped a pile of rocks on the puddle somewhat carelessly which caused the water to splash up. Emily jumped away.

"Watch it."

"Sorry."

"Do you need another rest?"

Serena nodded her head, "Do you?"

Emily nodded and dropped to the new ground, confident it wouldn't give out and dunk her into the Sanzu Water. Serena sat down beside her, took off the backpack and handed a bottle of water to Emily.

"We should think about going home soon," she said, "We can do some more work tomorrow."

Emily had a look at her Samuraizer and sighed, "We haven't even made a dent. I think there's more pools than when we started."

"You know what happens when the Nighlok get stronger," Serena shrugged. Emily huffed loudly.

"The Nighlok are getting stronger, Xandred's already kicked all our asses, Serrator's up to no good, Dekker wants Terran and he wants you dead. Dayu wants you dead. Octoroo's just a pain in the butt…"

"We can beat them all," Serena wrapped her arm around her sister's shoulder and gave her a gentle squeeze, "Hell, you just defeated a werewolf by yourself. Xandred should be no problem."

"I'll bet mom didn't have this much to worry about. She just had Xandred. And by himself, he almost killed her."

"They had a tough fight," Serena nodded and remembered the condition her mother had been in when she had come home. She knew that had only been after several days of recovery and that she hadn't even seen the worst of it. Since then, Xandred had grown stronger, and there was a lot more weighing against the Samurai. But Serena knew they had the strength to end the war.

"My heart tells me we'll win," Emily sighed, "But my head and my gut say differently. My head says it's not possible…"

"I've always told you," Serena smirked, "listen to your heart. It's gotten you this far, squirt."

"You think we'll make it?"

"No doubt."

Emily smiled and looked up to her sister. Her grin was quickly replaced by a look of horror. Serena saw this and glanced over her shoulder. Her eyes widened and she shifted her position to cover her sister as Serrator walked into view.

"We'll make this quick," Serrator said, "I'm guessing I only have a few minutes before the others turn up."

"What do you want, Serrator?" Serena asked with her hand on her Samuraizer.

Serrator laughed, "You won't need that."

"Like we're taking fighting advice from you," Serena scoffed.

Serrator shook his head, "I'm here to offer you a deal. One of you come with me, I'll let the other live another day."

"Or, we both go home," Serena said.

"That wasn't one of the options. You see, slowly, things are falling into place for me, but even with all this luck, I can't guarantee everything I have planned will go off without a hitch. So…"

"Kiss my ass," Serena growled.

"Language, please," Serrator flicked his hand out and a black substance shot out and hit Serena right in the face, covering her mouth, effectively gagging her. Serrator shook his head, seemingly in disappointment, "You kiss your son with that mouth?"

"What is that?" Emily asked while Serena tried to pull the black gag off her mouth, only to realize it was stuck there.

"My own creation," Serrator said, "What do you think?"

"Get it off her!"

"She's always been a bit mouthy," Serrator chuckled, "I thought this would ease the process. Save me a couple headaches, should she choose to come with me, of course."

"Why would she choose that?" Emily asked. Serrator smirked wickedly as his hand grew into a larger hand, with sharper and longer claws.

"Because, if she doesn't I'll kill you both. And I'll start with you."

Emily shook her head and pulled out her Samuraizer, morphing instantly while Serena still wrestled with the gag covering her mouth. When she saw her little sister jump into battle against Serrator, she had to help. Forgetting about the gag, she traced her symbol in the air and morphed. She got her sword out and swung it at Serrator just in time to stop his giant claw from swiping at Emily.

Serrator grinned, seeing he had a real fight now. As he evaded every one of Serena's attacks, he kept a watchful eye on both girls. In a perfect world he would take them both. In a perfect world, though, his plan would work perfectly and he wouldn't need either of them. Unfortunately, this world wasn't yet perfect for him and he knew that if he pushed his luck and stole both girls away, he would have a very angry team of Rangers coming after in. He didn't need that. Not now. He just needed to kick them down.

As soon as he could, he grabbed Serena by the neck. He knew of Dekker and Dayu's plans to use her to take him out, so if he got her on his side, not only would he have a guarantee his plan would work, but he would take away an ally from the Rangers and from Dekker and Dayu. She clearly was the better choice. But the moment his fingers wrapped around her neck he felt a sharp pain in his back which forced him to let go. Turning around he saw the other Rangers, minus gold, had arrived.

"Maybe next time," he sighed as he eyed the team, "For now, I guess I leave you with a gift. Enjoy the silence, Rangers."

A Gap opened up and sucked him back into the Netherworld.

Mike held his hand out to Emily as she powered down and he helped her to her feet, "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Emily nodded, "He didn't have time to do much."

"What did he mean by 'enjoy the silence'?" Mia asked.

Serena powered down and was sad to see the gag was still covering her mouth, silencing her completely. But her curse seemed to be Mike's blessing. As soon as he saw his sister in-law couldn't speak, he couldn't help himself.

"Thank you, Serrator!"

Serena shot him a look.

Mike chuckled, "If you want me to be sensitive about this, just say so, Serena."

He cupped his hand around his ear to listen for her word. Serena knew exactly what he was doing and knew she couldn't say a word.

However, one thing Mike hadn't accounted for was her sister. Though it didn't need to happen often, Serena and Emily could converse without using words. Mia had seen it happen once when the girls were teasing her and said it was like telepathy existed between the two. When Serena knew she couldn't speak to Mike herself, she turned to her sister. Emily nodded her head and then shouted in Mike's ear.

"Be sensitive!"

"OW!" Mike covered his ear and had a look of pain on his face. He could hear the ringing start and was sure he had temporarily lost the ability to hear from that ear, "Emily?"

"It wasn't me," she shook her head and pointed to her sister, "It was Serena."

Mike looked to the older girl and saw she had her arms crossed and an angry look on her face, "What is Serena saying now?"

"There's an ice-cream shop not too far from here and that's she's willing to buy everyone a sundae," Serena's eyes widened and Emily giggled. "What's that? Two sundaes each? Maybe another time, Serena. We wouldn't want to get fat."

Jayden rolled his eyes but couldn't stop a smile from forming on his lips, "Alright, we'll get the ice-cream and then we'll head home and talk about what just happened. Serrator's got to be up to something if he's back."

As the Samurai headed off towards the ice-cream shop, Serena stayed where she was with her arms crossed over her chest. Not only had she _not_ offered to buy ice-cream, but she couldn't eat it. Not with the gag covering her entire mouth. She couldn't eat or drink anything. She didn't know how she could last like this. It was funny for the others now, but sooner or later they were going to have to realize how much trouble she was in.

And to make matters worse, Serrator had practically told her he wanted either her or Emily. He had made it clear he preferred to take her, but he would gladly settle for Emily if Serena was, for some reason, unavailable.

"Serena, you coming?" James noticed she wasn't walking with him and turned to see what was keeping her. He saw the gag and smirked, "Aw, I guess this means no ice-cream for you."

Serena nodded her head and was hoping he could make the connection. No ice-cream, no food. Nothing could go in or come out of her mouth.

"We'll save you some for later," James promised her and grabbed her hand, pulling her along. Serena groaned, it was all she really could do at this point. It seemed she was going to have to find a way to tell the others once she got home.


	2. What's His Plan?

Serena could only sit and listen, and occasionally nod her head, as Emily explained what happened during the fight with Serrator. Emily didn't skip anything, starting with how Serrator appeared with a malicious smirk on his face, up to the end of the fight when the others joined. Serena agreed with everything Emily said, knowing it to be true except for one thing.

Emily had made it seem like Serrator only wanted Serena. In Emily's mind, that was the truth. Serrator had gagged her, stating it would prevent a few headaches when he took her, and he had made it clear Serena was his first choice. In the past, Serrator had focused his attention quite a bit on Serena because of her time as the mysterious white Ranger and because of her connection to Dekker. It seemed Emily still hung on to that and believed that once again Serrator was up to his old antics.

Serena wanted to correct her and let the team know Serrator would gladly settle but she couldn't. She couldn't speak with the gag over her mouth.

Seeing his fiancée looked upset, James pulled her into his arms. He knew she was strong, but no matter how many times she lived through it, knowing a Nighlok was after her specifically had to be a terrifying thing. He couldn't imagine what it felt like knowing someone wanted him dead, and how the power to carry out that goal.

"We won't let him get you," James promised and kissed the side of her head. Serena leaned into him and then saw something in the corner of her eye. Though he was no artist, Terran was getting into colouring. Now that he could hold crayons in his hand, and somewhat understood how to use them, he loved sitting in front of a piece of paper and going crazy. While the Samurai discussed Serrator, James had left Terran in his high chair with crayons and paper. The little boy was excited as the white paper was scribbled with colours, as if magically. Though given how young he was, the crayons were taking more of a beating than the paper.

Serena's eyes widened as she jumped up and stole the crayon and the paper from Terran. Horrified his mother would do something so mean, Terran babbled loudly in protest, screaming at her in his own little language to give him his toys back. Serena ignored him, turned the paper over and wrote down what she wanted to say.

"_Serrator wanted either of us."_

"But he went after you," Emily answered after reading the message.

Serena scribbled something else down, _"He'll take whoever he can get."_

"Then we won't let him take either of you," James promised.

Serena was a little relieved to hear that, but there was still another matter that needed to be addressed. Terran had a stack of papers and had picked up another crayon to colour with. Serena snatched the paper from him again, making him wail in protest. She had to ignore him again. She would make it up to him somehow. She scribbled down another note.

"For someone who can't speak, you sure have a lot to say," Mike teased. Serena snatched the crayon from Terran's hand and tossed it at Mike's head. Mike whined. Terran screamed.

"There are other crayons," Mia told Serena as she lifted Terran from his high chair to soothe him, "Mommy's mean, isn't she Terran?"

Serena turned her paper over, _"I can't eat."_

"We'll save you ice-cream…"

Serena pointed to the paper and underlined, _"I can't eat."_

Faces fell as they realized what she was saying. For now, the gag over her mouth was practically harmless, but given they had no idea how to get it off, and it didn't look like it was going to conveniently fall off anytime soon, in the long run this was potentially very deadly. On her own, Serena couldn't eat or drink, depriving her of nutrients and fluids.

Ji got up from his seat and placed his hand on her back, "There are other ways," he told her as he guided her out of the room.

"We have to figure out what that… goop is."

"If it's anything like the glue that Nighlok used on us," Mike said and gestured to himself and Kevin, "There's no getting it off."

"Ever?" Emily squeaked fearfully. She didn't like the sound of that. Though Kevin and Mike had a hard time stuck together, being bound by the wrists was nowhere near as dangerous as a gag. If Serena needed help, she couldn't call for it. Message boards were great, but only if someone was paying attention. Knowing her sister, knowing Serena was never one to just sit back and let the others take care of the dirty work; Emily knew Serena would get herself in trouble. If Serrator came back, Serena would be in the fight, and with a gag over her mouth, she couldn't call for help if she needed it.

The moment Emily glanced at the door Mike took her hand. He knew his wife well, and he knew his sister in-law. He made the same connections as Emily but took it a step further. He knew Emily would do anything to protect her sister and it terrified him. Reminding her of her promise to him, he held her hand gently.

Emily seemed to settle in her seat when Mike touched her. James was still uneasy. Serena was smart and brave and sometimes those two qualities turned into her biggest flaws – brave especially. Just like Emily, James looked to the door. He knew Serrator would come back, and he would have a better plan up his sleeve. Serrator scared James the most when it came to Serena because the Nighlok could easily outsmart Serena. Serrator seemed to know exactly how Serena ticked and he could make her do exactly what he wanted her to do without her knowing she was playing right into his hands. If Serena tried to handle this on her own, which she usually did, Serrator would outplay her.

"Excuse me," James whispered as he got up and left the room. The Samurai assumed he was worried for his fiancée, which was correct, and that he was either going to see what Ji was doing to help her eat and drink, or that he needed some space, scared at the thought of Serrator coming after her.

"We can get a step ahead of Serrator," Jayden said, "If we know why he wants Serena or Emily, maybe we can stop his plan. If he doesn't need them…"

"He'll kill them," Mia said. "C'mon, Jayden, let's face it, if Serrator doesn't need someone, he gets rid of them."

"Yeah," Mike nodded his head and wrapped his arm around Emily's shoulders, "He's not going to send us on vacation because we foiled his plan."

"I think there's something else we have to consider," Kevin said. He turned to Emily, "Does Serrator want you and Serena, or does he just need any of us and you two were most convenient?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders. She really wasn't sure. Serrator had given her the impression he wanted either her or Serena specifically, but he was sneaky. Knowing Serrator, his real target could have been Mia, or Jayden, or even Kate.

"I guess we'll all have to be careful, then," Kevin sighed.


	3. A Huge Blow

James wasn't sure what he wanted to do exactly, all he knew was that he wanted to do something. With Serena gagged and being hunted down by the nasty and cunning Serrator, James had to step up to the plate.

To say he felt emasculated was a bit of an understatement. He loved his life. He loved his son. He loved the idea of being a stay at home dad. Eventually, when he and Serena did settle down, he had no problem with her going out, getting a job and being the main provider of the family. He would take care of the kids. He would cook the meals, and he would keep the house clean. That, in itself, was three full time jobs (the latter of the two especially given kids loved to eat and loved to make a mess). But as much as he loved his life and his role in his new family, there were some things he missed.

He wanted to be the man of the house. He wanted to be the daddy who fought off monsters and he wanted to be the husband who protected his wife and kids from all dangers. He wanted to repair broken faucets and toys, and he wanted to have the answers to nearly all the questions (or make it look like he did). Dating a Samurai, especially a Samurai from the country, took that away from him almost completely. Serena could beat him to death with a pillow. She could take on an army of men twice her size and come out with only a few bruises. She had faced so many Nighlok, and so many dangers, that the boogeyman was about as intimidating as a kitten. And growing up in the country, on a farm, meant she had learned her way around nearly everything. She could repair broken faucets. Given Emily's clumsy nature, he was sure she could repair broken toys without looking. She could cure booboos, she could play princess or have tea parties with any future daughters she may have, and she could rough house and play with action figures or toy swords and guns with Terran and any other sons she may have.

She was everything, and while James loved it, it really left no room for him. If there was something he could do, Serena could do it as well. She didn't really need him for anything. She could protect herself better than he could protect her. In fact, more times than he cared to admit, she had protected him.

He didn't like the thought of his fiancée being in danger, and him standing around the Shiba House waiting for someone else to save her. Hell, he didn't like the thought of his fiancée being in danger and her _baby sister_ going out to save her while he sat on a stool and twirled his thumbs like a pathetic idiot. He loved his strange life, but it did have its flaws.

After Dekker and Dayu had made it clear they wanted Terran to themselves, James had started Samurai training with Mia's grandmother. She hadn't gone easy on him, but the hard work and the many bruises paid off. James felt confident enough to stand up for himself if a Nighlok were to show up, at least until the others arrived to help him. Hell, he had even defeated a Nighlok once before, when Octoroo had sent in clones of the Rangers to try and confuse them and destroy them. He was proud to say he was working his way up and was probably one of the deadliest people in the city, but he was nowhere near Serena's level. He could just picture it now: her kicking a robber's ass while he cowered in the corner with Terran. As the robber left in an ambulance, he would be whining and groaning about the pain (if he was still alive and conscious) and he would be laughing at the man hiding in the corner while his fiancée did all the dirty work.

He wouldn't let it happen. He wouldn't let this happen. If Serrator wanted Serena, he would have to go through James. Even if it landed him in the hospital, James wanted to have that one time where he protected the woman he loved, like any man would.

"Well, well, well," James recognized the voice and froze up, feeling somewhat panicked as Serrator walked out from the trees with a dangerous smirk on his face, "White Ranger's boy toy. What are you doing so far from home?"

"You want Serena," James growled and clenched his fists. "That gag you put on her, she can't eat, she can't drink. You're hurting her, you're threatening her, and I don't want to see that happen."

"So you came out here to try and stop me?" Serrator growled, "Aw, what a sweet thing to do. When I take over this pathetic planet, I might just miss how cute you disgusting humans can be."

James frowned. Cute was not what he was going for.

"Alright, boy toy," Serrator said, "I can make a deal. The white Ranger was my first choice, but I can settle for yellow if you really want…"

"You're not getting either of them," James shook his head. He knew Serena well. He knew there was no point saving her if it cost Emily. If he traded her little sister for anything, he might as well start digging his own grave."

"You didn't let me finish," Serrator shook his head, "You give me yellow and in return I'll leave your precious Serena alone and I'll promise Dekker and Dayu will not take the little boy from you."

"Terran?" James shook his head, dismissing the idea. Agreeing to any deal with Serrator was like making a deal with the devil. He would get burned, "No way."

"Is this your way of telling me that if I want the white Ranger, I need to go through you?"

James nodded his head. Before he could lift it back up he felt something slam into his chest and then he was smashed into the trunk of a tree. Then, what felt like a giant hand grabbed his body and tossed him in the air. Helpless, he could only watch as Serrator's large hand, with extra-long and extra sharp claws swung at him like a baseball bat. Not only did the claws tear through his skin, leaving him with what was sure to be impressive scars along his face, arm, back, and stomach, but the hand hitting him felt like a truck. When James finally hit the ground, he was bleeding badly and he was sure something was broken. Feeling like he had just gone through a blender, James needed to take a minute on the ground to breathe.

Serrator wouldn't allow that, though. He walked up to James and kicked him in the side, rolling him from his stomach to his back. He then pressed his foot against James's chest, pinning him to the ground. Just when James thought there was nothing more Serrator could do, the Nighlok lifted his foot and smashed it back down. James could hear several of his ribs cracking and suddenly breathing became very, very difficult.

_A stupid idea,_ he thought to himself, _this was a very, very stupid idea._

Closing his eyes, he waited for Serrator to end it all and hoped the others would keep Serena safe. The final blow to kill him never came, though, and when James opened his eyes to see what was taking Serrator so long, between the black spots and the blurriness from the lack of oxygen, James could see it was Serena who had come to his rescue. Serrator's appearance must have triggered the Gap Sensor, and when James didn't come out to assure her he would keep Terran safe, she bolted out to find him. Given she was alone, she had likely raced ahead of the others, terrified he had stumbled into trouble.

Like James, though, Serena was having trouble breathing. Though she was an amazing Samurai, Serrator always had a trick or two up his sleeve and was giving her a run for her money. She already seemed exhausted, and with the gag covering her mouth, she could only breathe through her nose. She couldn't pull in oxygen fast enough to fight off Serrator properly.

"Let's make this quick," Serrator said and James could barely see Serena falling to the ground before he blacked out.

When he woke up again, he wasn't too sure where he was. He heard a steady beeping, the room smelt very clean, and his body was crying out in pain. He had been hurt before. As a coach and as a player he had suffered many painful sports injuries, but nothing hurt like this. Finally he was able to open his eyes and he saw he was a hospital room. His ass kicking from Serrator came back to him and was a very good explanation for all the pain he felt.

"Broken ribs," he looked up and saw it was just Ji in the room with him, "Serrator broke your ribs, they punctured your lungs and caused one to collapse. The doctors reflated it, but you will be here for a while."

James nodded his head. That explained why he had trouble breathing.

Ji continued, "Serrator left his mark on you as well. It took about eighty stitches to patch you up again, spread out over your back, your arm, the side of your body and your face."

James could remember bleeding, as well as the feel of Serrator's sharp claws ripping through his skin. Knowing the Nighlok could have done worst, eighty stitches didn't sound so bad. At least he was still alive.

"Your shoulder was also dislocated. You have a sprain in the opposite wrist; your back is black and blue and looks like an elephant danced all over it. Your eye is also black, though Serrator didn't do that."

James looked to Ji curiously. If Serrator hadn't hurt his eye then where could he have gotten a black eye from. He knew carrying an injured friend off the battlefield wasn't always graceful, but the Rangers were very careful, especially with the head.

"And, worst of all," Ji said after taking a deep breath, "We had to let Serrator get away. He took Serena with him."

James was in a lot of pain, and the beating Serrator had given him had been the worst pain he had ever felt right up until this very moment. He looked around the room and hoped Ji was playing a very cruel prank on him, punishing him for going out on his own and not seeking cover once Serrator appeared. But Serena was nowhere to be seen. She wasn't in the corner in the empty chair. She wasn't beside him holding his hand, and she wasn't at the foot of the bed, ready to scream at him for being an idiot.

"Why didn't you help her?" he managed to say. Ji looked to him and shook his head.

"Despite your long involvement with the Samurai, the training you received from Mako, and your knowledge of the risks of being associated with one of the Samurai Rangers, you are still a civilian. As a Ranger, as a Samurai, and as the woman who loves you with all her heart, Serena couldn't let you get hurt. If we wasted any time with Serrator, we would have lost you. I guarantee we would have lost you."

Tears started to stream down James' cheek as he realized his mistake. Though his body told him not to, he pounded his fist into the bed and kicked both legs in frustration. He hadn't protected Serena at all. He had handed her to Serrator. He had practically put her in the Nighlok's hands and told him to take off. He couldn't be sure Serrator had appeared just for him, but regardless, he had been on earth and the only reason Serena had run ahead of the group was because of James. Had she stayed with the team, they could have protected her.

And they would have done a much better job than him.

"Terran is in good hands," Ji assured James, "While you are recovering in here, we will all keep our eye on him. You are in the Samurai's personal hospital and the only patient. I promise, you will receive the best of care and you will be back on your feet as soon as possible."

"What about Serena?"

"I can only guess she is alive. Serrator wouldn't have sought her out and captured her just so he could kill her. He had the chance to do so and didn't take it. Something tells me we will see her again. Something also tells me it will not be a pleasant reunion."

"Do you know why he wanted her?"

Ji shook his head, "I am working on that now. If I find an answer I will let you know. For now, I will leave you to rest. The doctor here is excellent, and the nurses are very friendly. I suggest you get to know them well. You may not be getting many visits."

"Are they pissed?"

"Some a lot more than others. Knowing that, I'm sure you can guess who gave you that black eye."

"Ji…"

"For now, focus on recovering. Hopefully there will be cool heads by the time you are allowed to come back."


	4. Hospital Visit

Minutes felt like hours, hours felt like days, and days felt like years. Since Ji had left the room when James first woke up, there had been no visitors except for nurses and doctors, and they were quickly getting on James' nerves. He knew they were only trying to help but their questions, their concerns, and their presence in general were really starting to get on his nerves.

But finally, after a couple of days, he heard a knock on the door. When it swung open he saw two faces he hadn't see since before his big mistake: Mia and Terran.

"This little boy misses his daddy," Mia had on a smile as she approached the bed, but James could see the look in her eye that told him she wasn't too happy with him. He did still appreciate the visit, but he was sure he was going to get an earful at some point.

Mia set Terran down on the bed, but was careful to keep him close. James was still recovering and Terran, at his age, had no way of knowing to be gentle, or even how to be gentle. Very easily, and without meaning to, the little boy could pull one of his father's stitches, dislocate his shoulder again, make a minor injury worst, or cause extreme pain. None of which would be pleasant.

As best as he could, James used his better arm to hug his son. Terran was squirming and bouncing in excitement. He hadn't seen either of his parents in days, and to a boy his age that was an eternity. To James, these couple of days felt like years. To Terran, they were a lifetime.

The smile on his son's face cheered him up, but also killed him inside. Because James had stupidly taken on Serrator by himself, it was a strong possibility that Terran would never see his mother again. James knew the Samurai were working hard back at home to find her and bring her home safely, but in Serrator's hands, the odds of her coming back without a scratch was less than zero. The odds of her coming back at all weren't much higher.

Adoption meant nothing to James. If anyone on the street were to ask, Terran was his son. But when it came to Serena, she was his real mother. Terran already had to live his life without his birth father around. Taking away his birth mother, especially when he knew she loved Terran dearly, and he knew she would take excellent care of him, felt like the dirtiest thing he could do. Though James would always be around for Terran, no matter what happened to Serena, it just didn't feel right. A boy needed his mother. Terran needed Serena.

Serena. James sighed and looked up at Mia, "Have you made any progress on…?"

"Serrator hasn't come back since he took her," Mia shook her head. "No Nighlok has. We've heard nothing from them. It could be a long wait."

James dropped his head back into his pillow. He could feel his eyes starting to water. Mia grabbed a chair and sat down next to the bed. She touched his arm, just above the sling that kept it from moving around.

"We're pretty sure that means she's not dead," she assured him. "Serrator wants to hurt us. If he had killed her, he would have shown us or told us by now. Even if he hadn't and wanted us to believe she was dead, he would have done something to make us believe she's gone. We think he wants her for something, and he wants her alive."

"In other words… she's being tortured," James choked on his words and groaned.

"Serena's strong, mentally and physically. If she knows you, Terran, and Emily are safe, there's nothing Serrator can do that'll really hurt her. So don't do anything stupid again. I promise you, if you so much as go to the bathroom without telling one of the nurses where you are, I will come in here and tie you to bed. Understood?"

"Perfectly. After what happened, I don't think I'll be doing anything even remotely dangerous ever again."

"Yeah, what exactly were you thinking?"

"I didn't want Serrator getting to Serena."

"You wanted to protect her?"

James nodded his head and looked down at Terran, "Mike and Kevin, and Jayden and Antonio are pretty lucky. They have partners who can protect themselves, but they're still strong enough to keep them safe. Mike's protected Emily, Jayden and Antonio protect each other, and Kevin's your knight in shining armour."

"This is a guy thing, isn't it?"

"A little bit."

Mia sighed, "Alright, then I won't comment on that. You do what you think you need to do to protect Serena and be the man of the relationship or whatever. But don't you dare do anything stupid again. Serrator almost killed you. How the hell can you protect her if you're dead? Did you think about that?"

"I didn't go out looking for Serrator."

"You didn't exactly look for help when he turned up, did you?"

James shook his head sadly, "I screwed up. You don't have to remind me."

"I am reminding you," Mia growled. "I'm reminding you because we lost a Ranger. Terran's crying at night because mommy and daddy aren't putting him to bed like they normally do. Mike's pissed off. Jayden's stressing out. Antonio's working harder than he should, given he should still be resting. Kevin's chewing his nails, which I've never seen him do before. Mentor and Kate are running around trying to keep everything in check, and I don't think Emily's had dry eyes since Serena left."

"It's bad at home, I know…"

Mia gave James' arm a very soft squeeze, "Yeah, it's pretty bad. We're all really worried. We're worried Serrator's getting what he wants, and we're worried for Serena, but we're also worried about you. Believe it or not, Emily is here with me."

"She is?"

"She's in the hallway," Mia gestured to the door with her head. "She wanted to see for herself that you were okay, but froze up last minute. She's scared she'll beat the living hell out of you, and she's scared she'll break down seeing you like this."

"That means a lot."

"It better," Mia nodded, "Kate says she hasn't seen Emily like any of Serena's friends or boyfriends as much as she's likes you, and the only boyfriend of Serena's that Kate missed was Dekker. We know how Emily feels about him."

"She's a good kid…"

"And a great judge of character. She trusts you with Serena because she knows you're good for her. She knows you'll keep her safe when she can't. You might not be able to fight Nighlok like she can, and she might be able to kick your ass any day of the week that ends in 'Y', but you still protect her. You have your own way of looking out for her, and that doesn't make you any less of a man, or whatever."

"Thanks, Mia," by now the tears were flooding his eyes and dripping down his face. Terran could see his father was upset and started to cry with him. Mia lifted the little boy into her arms and gave James a kiss on the cheek.

"We'll find her. We'll bring her home alive, I promise."

"You can't…"

"I promise," Mia insisted. "Take care, James."

James nodded his head and watched as she left. He hoped it wouldn't be long until his next visit. Lying in bed, there really wasn't anything else to do.

His wish was granted. Moments after Mia walked out the door it opened again and Emily stepped into the room. She didn't walk in too far, just enough so she could see James. When he looked at her he sighed sadly, "Emily…"

"The only reason I'm not giving you another black eye is because I'm sure you're already beating yourself up for what happened."

"I thought I got this shiner from you," James hoped maybe a joke could lighten the mood. Emily didn't crack a smile.

"For every scratch on her body, you'll get two from me, I hope you know that."

"Yep."

"If she has a nightmare, I'll make sure you have ten."

"I wouldn't expect any less."

"If she's dead, I'll kill you."

"Make it quick, please. It can be as painful as you want but do it quickly."

"You won't get a choice."

James sighed, "I guess that's fair."

"Do you have any idea how much I hate you right now?"

"About as much as I hate myself."

"Probably," Emily nodded her head and then suddenly sprinted to the bed and threw her arms around him. She gave him a quick hug, and with all his injuries it hurt, but it meant a lot to James. Then she kissed him on the cheek and darted off to the door. James estimated her total time away from the door was about five seconds, but it was a good five seconds. He felt terrible for what he had done to Serena and he didn't like what he had done to the rest of her family and the other Samurai. They were also paying for his mistake.

But knowing they were still on his side, even just a little bit, was a huge comfort. Nowhere near as comforting as having Serena home safe and sound, but second best.

He leaned back into his pillow and reached for the remote to the TV. There was really nothing on. This hospital didn't get any channel that interested him, but it was better than sitting in silence and wondering what would happen next.


	5. Cut Down The Middle

Jayden tapped his foot impatiently as he stared at the map. It had been a full week now since Serrator had disappeared with Serena and there had been no sign from him, from her, or from the Netherworld since. He hoped it meant Serena was still alive and that there was still a chance she could be saved, but with every day that passed the slim odds of rescuing her only got slimmer.

It was early in the morning. No one else was awake yet. Jayden had a tough decision to make. He and the team could either spend another full day on this goose hunt for Serena, or they could get back to training and prepare for the next attack. Just because it had been a while since it had come, didn't mean it wasn't on its way. Jayden wanted his full team ready for the fight, and he wanted to win. He wanted Serrator and the Nighlok to know that there was no hurting to Samurai, and this would only make them fight harder. Jayden wanted to see the end of the Nighlok with a burning passion.

Jayden heard a noise in the kitchen so he turned off the map and got up to investigate. When he walked in he saw Terran throw a bowl of dry cereal to the ground. Terran wasn't doing it for fun. He was doing it because he was angry. He was protesting being fed by his Auntie Emy in the morning. He was protesting having to sleep in hers and Mike's room. He was just a little boy, but he was smart enough to know mommy and daddy haven't been around. He wanted the world to know he wanted them.

Misty eyed, Emily saw the mess on the floor and went to grab a broom. She didn't see Jayden as she walked by and bumped into him. She whispered a soft apology but continued to the closet for the broom. When she came back, Jayden took it from her hand. Emily whispered a thank you and then took a seat at the table. She put her head in her hands and Jayden heard a sob. Jayden knew this was tough on Emily. Not only was Serena gone, but James was badly hurt and Terran still needed someone to look after him. A young child had been thrust into her arms and for the foreseeable future it was up to her to raise him. She would have help from the team, just like Serena had, but the weight was still on her shoulders. For an eighteen year old, raising a child and saving the world was a lot to carry.

But it helped Jayden with his decision. He had to start getting the team back into a routine. Moping around about Serena and waiting for Serrator to make another move was doing no good to anyone. There was no hope that way. If the team found their strength again, they stood a better chance at rescuing Serena and saving the entire planet from the Nighlok.

"Go get ready. Training starts as soon as Terran finishes breakfast."

Emily lifted her head, hearing the command from Jayden. She tried to say something, he believed she wanted to pass, but he shook her head, silently informing her that this wasn't a request, but a demand.

"Go get the others up too. I shouldn't be long."

Leaving Terran in Jayden's care for the morning, Emily got up and walked to her room. She would wake Mike up while she got ready, and then she would get the others up.

Jayden poured another small bowl of cereal for Terran. When it looked like the little boy was going to throw his food, Jayden snatched the bowl and set it down. Terran knew his uncle wasn't happy, but tried again still. So again, Jayden snatched the bowl and set it down.

"Eat," he sat. With a look of hate, Terran grabbed a few Cheerios and put them in his mouth. Jayden then put water in a Sippy Cup for Terran. The little boy didn't eat or drink everything, but he got enough to satisfy his uncle. Jayden then cleaned him up, lifted him out of the high chair and set him in the play pen, where he could be seen from the dojo.

One by one, the other Samurai joined him for training. Jayden paired them up and they got started. None of them looked like they really wanted to fight, but they all did as they were told.

-Samurai-

On a mountain top, Serena was blasted back into the dirt. Serrator said he wouldn't kill her, but his actions said otherwise. When Serena lay on the floor to try and find her bearings, Serrator grabbed her arm and pulled her up to her feet.

"Try it again."

Serena looked down at the ground. She had been in Serrator's hands for a week and this had been all he had asked her to do. Serrator had taken her to the top of one of the tallest mountains he could find near Panorama City, but outside the zone covered by the Gap Sensors, so he couldn't be traced. He asked her to split the mountain in half. Serena had moved mountains before, but not without using a lot of energy. Splitting them right down the center, basically tearing solid rock apart was damn near impossible. After a long week, she had barely made it a couple dozen feet down. If she wanted to split the mountain in half, not only did she have to carve through the dirt and the stone, but she had to keep them from falling in on each other. Every time she created a crack, she had to reshape the mountain. It took her a little less than a day's worth of work to move a couple of feet down.

Picking up her Samuraizer, Serena traced another symbol. She carved through mere centimeters of the mountain before falling to her knees. Then she was blasted back again. Serrator always punished her if she didn't work as fast he wanted her to.

She wanted to lay on the ground and recover, but Serrator grabbed her arm again. This time, even with support, Serena couldn't stand. Knowing this meant it was the end of the day, Serrator dropped her and walked off. Serena tried in vain to get away but she heard chains clinking together before she could even lifted her head. Serrator put shackles on her ankles and then on her wrists, which he then pulled behind her back and fastened together with the chains. Serena could do nothing but let him have his way. Then he lifted her up, over his shoulder and carried her down the mountain to the mouth of a cave. He took her inside and then dropped her on the ground. The gag covering her mouth came off, like it always did once she was done work. A bowl of food and a bowl of water were dropped carelessly before her and most of the contents spilled. When it came to food it didn't matter. Serena would eat off the ground, but the water was soaked up by the dirt, leaving Serena with half as much as Serrator had given her.

With her arms still bound behind her back, Serena had no choice but to pull herself up and eat from the bowls like an animal.

"One week," Serrator growled as he paced back and forth, waiting for her to finish her meal, "One week and we're still no closer than when we started. Do you understand, at all, how important this is? I need you to be able to help me."

Serena didn't say a word, having learned earlier in the week that her mouth was not a weapon she should play with. Serrator had all the power and if she tried to reclaim any of it by being a smart-ass or defending herself or the Samurai, he would remind her he was in charge.

Though she didn't say anything, Serrator still stole her food and water before she was finished, "I brought you here to help me, Serena. If you can't do that, you're worthless."

Serena was shot in the face once again as a new gag was put over her mouth. She hadn't breathed a word in days, but Serrator still didn't trust her to keep quiet. He grabbed her and carried her further back into the cave, where a cage was waiting for her. It was long and short, perfect for lying down. He set her inside locked the top, wrapped a chain around the bars by her feet and connected them to the shackles around her ankles.

"Tomorrow, I expect you to make up for this lack of progress. If you can't, I might have to consider getting you some help."

Serena didn't react. Every night he threatened her the same way. She knew eventually he would follow through but the impact of his words hurt less and less every night. He knew exactly why she wasn't making as much progress as he wanted. He knew exactly how tired she was. He knew exactly why she was in so much pain.

He knew exactly how to push her buttons. The only thing Serena did still have control over was how much of an effect those buttons had on her. They hurt and scared her, but on the surface she had numbed herself to them.

Serrator smirked and tapped the top of the cage, "Rest up."


	6. The Human Nighlok

Mike had no problems admitting he had gotten his ass kicked by his wife. He had no trouble telling people his five foot one hundred pound love of his life beat him up in a fair fight, but after hitting the mat close to a dozen times it did start to get old. For a moment he lay on the ground, looking up at the big blue sky and he watched the stars. There weren't supposed to be stars, but he was seeing them.

"Sorry," Emily's gentle voice was back and he felt her hands carefully grab him and help him back up to his feet. Mike hoped this meant she was done letting her frustrations out on him.

"Did I do something to you, Em?" Mike asked in a teasing tone, but he was also a little bit serious. She hadn't pulled on everything. He would have a few bruises in the morning.

"No, I'm sorry," Emily tried to run off to get him a bag of peas, but Mike grabbed her by the arm and pulled her in for a hug. He knew what was going on. He was just as scared as she was. When he felt her breathing calm down he loosened the hug and grabbed her arms gently.

"We'll use training dummies next time," he smirked. "I'll make a mask of Serrator's face, put it over the head of the dummy, and you can beat into it to your heart's content."

"I'd rather beat into the real one," Emily muttered.

"Me too. We're searching high and low for him and for Serena. You'll get to throw the first and last punch when we do find him. I promise."

"I don't want to punch him," Emily picked up her training sword, "I want to rip his chest open and rip out all his organs one by one and have him lay on the ground, helpless and screaming for mercy. Mercy I'll never grant him. He'll just lay there and he'll feel all the pain he can possibly feel and he won't die until I let him die, slowly."

"I always thought you dreamed of rainbows and kittens," Mike chuckled and gently took the sword from Emily's hands, thinking it best she didn't hold any weapons, no matter how blunt. "You know, when you're dreaming, you get this cute little grin on your face. I can't imagine that sweet little grin while in your head you're ripping Serrator apart from the inside out."

"While he screams for mercy. Don't forget he's screaming for mercy."

"I don't think I ever will," he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, "C'mon, Monster, the others are probably done with the showers. Maybe we can take one together."

"Do you think we'll really find Serena in time?"

"I promise it," Mike nodded.

Emily let a small smile escape her lips and then ran inside the house, "First person in the shower chooses the temperature!"

"No fair!" Mike ran after her, stripping off his shirt, kicking off his shoes, and removing his pants as he went.

"MIKE!" Mia screamed when she saw him running half-naked through the house and leaving his clothes everywhere.

"Sorry, Mia! We're… saving water!"

"Thank god they have their own bathroom," Mia groaned and shook her head.

-Samurai-

Since Mia and Emily had come to visit, James had seen a few of the other Samurai for about five minutes each. They all put their frustrations with him aside to see how he was doing, letting him know they did still care about him. Each time, they also brought Terran.

When they came to visit, James felt he had to apologize to each and every one of them for what he had done. Though it hadn't been intentional, it had been incredibly stupid, and he had put them all in danger. But the one person he couldn't apologize to was Serena, and she was the one who needed it the most.

He wondered what exactly was happening to her, and why Serrator wanted her. It was possible there was no real reason behind it except throwing the Rangers off. Serrator could have flipped a coin to see who he would mess with, and it just happened to land on Serena.

At the same time, it was possible he wanted her for something big. Serrator was always up to something, and if he needed one of the Samurai to help him accomplish his goal, it had to be something big and terrifying.

And Serena was forced to face it alone. No one could see her signal. No one knew where she was. There was no way to help her. No way to let her know she was being looked for. Given how badly Serrator had beaten him up, it was very likely Serena had no way of knowing if he was still alive. It was possible she believed her sacrifice was all in vain.

He had to take his mind off the bad thoughts. Reaching out, he grabbed the remote in his better hand and turned on the TV. It wouldn't work completely, but it would be a distraction. It would give him something to do other than…"

"Earthquake?" James was flipping through channels and had to go back when he saw something earth related on the screen. There was a huge warning for residents of the mountain area, just outside Panorama City, to leave their homes and seek shelter somewhere in town. Strange earthquakes were coming down the mountains at very different intervals, confusing even the best earthquake specialist. James didn't waste a moment and grabbed the phone in his room. It was connected directly to the Shiba House and he knew someone would pick up.

Strange earthquakes had to be a sign Serena was nearby. He wasn't sure, but it was a lead.

-Samurai-

Serena dropped to her knees. Her sleep the night before hadn't been restful, just as she had expected, and Serrator had woken her up early that day to get to work. His reasoning was that the longer the work day, the deeper Serena would manage to cut and the fast the job would go. He insisted to Serena he didn't want to have to go all the way into town to collect her sister, but Serena knew he would love nothing more.

So she worked hard, tearing into the mountain and then building it back up safely so it wouldn't all fall in. He had never been so drained before, giving birth to Terran seemed restful to her now, but she had to keep pushing through. She had to keep the Samurai strong. If they lost one more, they would be the ones with the cracks.

"You're working much faster," Serrator commented as Serena tore through the mountain again, "I guess you humans were right about something. Practice does make perfect. You're getting better. Stronger, even."

Serena hadn't noticed it until he brought it up, likely because she was so tired, but she did feel a little stronger. She was pushing herself beyond her limits, which wasn't healthy at all, but it was working wonders for building up her Symbol Power. After fixing up the mountain she tore deeper into it, this time making an even bigger cut.

"I'm very impressed, Serena," Serrator complimented her on her work, and as she finished reconstructing the mountain he grabbed her and pulled her away from her ledge. "You learn quickly."

Serena nodded her head. With the gag still in place from the night before it was all she could do.

Serrator tapped his chin, "How would you feel about, maybe, taking matters into your own hands?"

Serena looked to Serrator and was very intrigued. She had learned long ago never to make deals with the Nighlok, but in her position now she had nothing to lose. Serrator controlled her. Whether she agreed to his deal or not was really out of her hands. She was better off not resisting.

"I will fill you in on my plans," Serrator told her. I will let you know exactly what I'm doing and what role you may have to play in it. After that, you will continue to do as I ask. You will train by tearing this mountain in two, and you will also train to improve your skills. You will not be training against me, though."

Serrator gestured down the mountain where they had a bird's eye view of Panorama City. Serena's eyes widened but she knew she didn't have a choice.

"You will fight against the Rangers. You will get better and better so that when the time comes, you will take them out just as easily as I took out your pathetic boyfriend."

Tears welled up in Serena's eyes but she pushed them back.

Serrator put his hand on her shoulder, "In exchange for all that, I will never ask you to kill the Samurai. I will ask you to break bones. I will ask to see their blood on your hands when you return from battles. I will ask you make them feel a terrible pain, but I will never ask you to kill them. You will be returned to them before their inevitable demise."

Serena wiped the tears away from her eyes with the back of her hand. It wasn't really much of a deal, but it was one she had to accept. If she didn't, Serrator could kill her, or worse, he could go after one of the Samurai. Maybe he would even take a shot at Terran.

"Will you do it?"

Serena nodded her head. Serrator smiled and gave her cheek a little pat.

"Atta girl."


	7. Serrator's Pet

After getting word from James about the strange activity up in the mountains, the Samurai rushed to check it out. Very rarely did they have to venture outside of the city to deal with Nighlok issues, and so they had a hard time finding their way around. Once they were closer to the mountain where James saw the strange activity was coming from, Emily seemed to pick up on something and raced ahead, forcing the others, Antonio especially due to his injuries, to run as quickly as possible just to keep up with her.

Scaling the mountain proved difficult, and everyone slipped or lost their footing at least once but after hours of climbing they made it to what looked to be a ledge, where a cave opened up and led inside the mountain. Emily darted inside and the others were forced to go after her.

"Emily!" they called to try and pull her back before something bad happened.

"Over here!" Emily answered back and waved them over. When the Samurai arrived and looked to what she wanted to show them they knew they had the right spot.

"It's a cage," Mia stated the obvious as she knelt and touched the metal cage. It was longer than it was tall, perfect for lying down. She wasn't sure how many people ventured up into the mountains but getting up this high and bringing a cage up was more trouble than it was worth for any ordinary man.

"You think he's been keeping her here?" Jayden asked.

While the Samurai discussed the possibility of Serrator bringing Serena to this spot, Emily walked further into the cave, until she reached a wall. It was hard to see so she reached her hand out, hoping she could use that as her eyes while she was in the dark. She put her hand on the wall and felt the surface. It was way too smooth to be natural. Someone had been here. Someone had changed the shape of the back of the cave. Pulling out her Samuraizer she used a Symbol to break down the wall. It shattered into pieces, practically blowing up in her face before it crumbled.

"Emily?" Mike turned to her to see what she was getting up to.

Unnaturally for the middle of the mountain, breaking the inside wall brought in some more light for the cave. Emily looked up and saw a large crack that extended right to the top of the mountain. Then she looked down and saw it continued several feet below where she stood.

The crack wasn't natural either. The edges were too smooth. It looked like the mountain had been reshaped to be perfect, and it looked like it was being reshaped because it was being cut in half. Someone was trying to turn this mountain into two.

Just as the others approached Emily, and before they could ask her what had caught her attention, she fell away from them, down to the middle of the mountain.

"Emily!" they cried and leaned over the edge. It wasn't too far a fall, but enough to cause them to panic. When they looked down to see if she was okay, they were surprised to see she hadn't fallen. She had been pulled down.

"Serena?" Kevin asked, seeing the white Ranger and Emily wrestling at the bottom of the gap. Emily was holding back, screaming for Serena to stop and insisting everything was okay, but Serena either didn't believe her, or didn't want to believe her. She continuously tried to beat into her sister, and it looked like she was trying everything she could to win.

Serena hated this. Serrator couldn't hear anything that happened from his hiding place, but he could see it. He could see everything she did. If Serena hadn't had the gag covering her mouth she would have explained everything to her little sister. But that wasn't an option. She had been gagged. Her speech had been taken from her, and she was forced to beat up the yellow Ranger without an explanation.

Suddenly, a fire burned all around her. She figured the samurai realized there was something wrong and Emily needed to be protected. Jayden must have known Serena was a danger. The fire burned Serena and seemed to leave a bit of a singe on Emily. As Serena backed away, knowing Serrator wouldn't disapprove only because he didn't want her dead yet, another fireball came at her. Serena had to jump out of the way quickly and scaled the wall, climbing up the gap until she reached the top of the mountain.

Then she looked back down. Mike and Antonio had fallen beside Emily to check up on her while Jayden, Kevin, and Mia looked up. They couldn't climb the wall as quickly as Serena and knew they had to let her get away, but they wanted answers.

Serena wanted to explain everything but she couldn't. She couldn't say a word.

Emily stood up. Serena locked eyes with her little sister.

"Don't go!" Emily cried. Serena watched her grab the rock wall and start to climb, only to fall as soon as she tried to pull herself up. She had, unfortunately, been caught in Jayden's attack. It had saved her for now, but she had been scathed. When Emily fell, Mia was quick to catch her and pull her into her arms, hugging her tight as Serena jumped down and disappeared out of sight. She had to leave. Serrator wouldn't be happy if she spent too much time with her former team.

Hopping down a few ledges, Serena could only hope her friends would put two and two together. She had threatened to hurt them all before but they had to know this wasn't what she meant. She would never turn on her team unless forced. She needed them. She needed them desperately. They were now her only hope.

As she hopped down to the final ledge, she was pulled through a gap before her feet hit rock and she tumbled. She landed ungracefully at the top of another mountain, where Serrator was waiting for her. He had been watching her through a portal. As she straightened herself up, he approached her with a wicked grin on her face.

"Attacking your sister first? I didn't think you had it in you," he ripped the gag off her mouth, "How does it feel?"

Serena didn't answer. She didn't say a word. She saw a bowl of food and water had been left out for her and she went for it. She hadn't wanted to go after Emily first, but if she was going to convince Serrator she was willing to go along with his deal, she had to pull out all the stops. The more useful he thought she was, the longer she would stay alive. She needed to show him she would do exactly what he asked and nothing would hold her back. The only way to accomplish that was to have him see her attack her own sister.

What Serrator didn't know what that Serena had made the fight easy for Emily defensively. It looked like Serena was trying to land her punches on Emily, but she was always off by a hair, and she only attacked in a combination Emily knew well. It had been their mother's warm up. Without thinking, Emily could dodge every punch and kick that came her way. Had Jayden not interrupted, Serena knew she would have landed a few, but fortunately he had sensed danger, and he had cut in, giving Serena an excuse to run before she did any real damage to her sister. Serrator was convinced, and though Serena had to sleep with the replay of assaulting Emily, she could sleep knowing she hadn't caused her any harm.

"Maybe in a few days I'll send you into the city. We'll see how you match up in a real fight against all of them. I'll see what you're really made of."

Serrator walked to a basket he carried with him; a basket that always seemed to be full of food. He pulled out what looked like a chicken drumstick and dropped it in her bowl. Serena looked down in shock. Serrator never gave her extra food. She was lucky if he let her finish her bowl. Seeing the look of shock on her face, Serrator chuckled, "You did well today."

Serrator then returned to his seat, turning his back to Serena, giving her just a little bit of privacy for now.

Serena looked down in her bowl at the extra food and thought about how she had earned it. Though Serrator was proud of her, it meant nothing. She picked up the drumstick and tossed it over the side of the mountain. She turned to Serrator and thought maybe she could sneak away. As soon as she got up, she felt a hand on her shoulder. In the seconds since she had taken her eyes off him, Serrator knew what she was up to and walked over to stop her. He kept one hand on her shoulder while the other reached for the chain. Normally he used it with shackles to keep her feet attached to the bars of her cage. Now, he wrapped the chain around her neck and used a lock to keep it in place. Then he led her to his chair and clipped her to it. He sat down and closed his eyes to rest.

Serena pulled on the chain but it was no use. Serrator wasn't really any bigger than an average man, but he sure did weigh a lot more, and his chair was also at least twice his weight. Serena gave up quickly and lay down on her back. She looked up at the sky. It was getting dark again. She could see the stars were starting to come out. She thought of the team, she thought of her sister, and she thought of James and Terran. Tears dripped down her cheeks.

She desperately needed them to figure this all out. Serrator was turning out to be too smart for her.


	8. How To Handle Serena

"I'm really sorry, Em," Jayden sat on his stool and watched as Kate wrapped a gauze around the burn on Emily's arm. The burn wasn't too bad and would heal on its own if treated properly, but Jayden was apologizing for more than just the burn he had given her. Serena had attacked her. Her sister, who had been kidnapped and missing for a week, finally turned up, only to turn Emily into prey.

The others were in the dojo, out of earshot, trying to discuss what had happened in the mountains. They came up with many ideas why Serena had turned against them, but they didn't want any of them to be true. Mind control was painful, as Kevin had experienced once a long time before. Being forced to turn against the team meant Serrator had something or was doing something to convince Serena to fight.

Serena willingly turning over to Serrator had been brought up and then quickly dismissed, though it was still possible.

In the common room, Emily watched as Kate finished wrapping up the burn and then she got a kiss on the cheek from her aunt.

"Everything's going to be okay."

"Okay?" Emily's voice was barely a whisper, "She just kicked my butt! My overprotective sister just kicked my butt."

"The burn was from me," Jayden reminded her, "Serena didn't leave anything more than a scratch on you."

"Fine," Emily groaned and jumped up to her feet, "Then I'll jump you, pin you down and throw punches at your face while I give you a look that says I need to do it."

"Exactly, Emily," Kate touched her arm, pulling her back slightly, "Serena might need to do this. You were attacked, but she might be the victim."

"I know! For whatever reason she thinks she needs to do this. Serrator's hurting her. He's done something to her. She's scared. She's scared enough to attack me!"

"Emily…"

"Leave me alone!" Emily screamed. She ripped her arm from Kate's grasp and ran to her bedroom. She slammed the door shut. Poor Terran, who had been napping in the bedroom, started to cry as he was woken up.

"I'll go talk to her," Mike said. He and the others heard Emily's screaming and had come to see what it was all about, only for Emily to storm off. As Mike went after his wife, Mia walked to Jayden and gave him a short hug. She knew how hard he took these things. As leader, it was his responsibility to protect his team and their families. Mia could see he didn't think he was going a good job.

"It's mostly shock," she told him. "She's just surprised Serena would attack her. Scared, even. It'll wear off. She'll be fine."

"But Serena won't be," Jayden shook his head and pulled away from Mia, "How did this happen?"

"Serena will be fine," Kate promised Jayden. "She'll last until we can bring her home, away from this mess."

"She'll kick our ass, that's what she'll do," Kevin muttered. All eyes turned to him, "What? Let's face it, she's one of the best and we don't want to hurt her. While we're pulling punches and trying to reason with her, she'll be smashing our heads into the pavement, doing all she can to make Serrator proud."

"Kevin!" Mia cried and smacked him in the stomach. He shrugged.

"That's exactly how I felt when that Nighlok controlled me," Kevin said. "Just the thought of pleasing him and seeing you all destroyed… why do you think I hated myself for so long after that?"

"Serena would never do that," Kate shook her head and insisted. Kevin shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know. Out of all of us, she decided to play whack-a-mole with her sister's head. If Emily's not safe, none of us are."

"But if Serena's attacking Emily, she's got to be in more trouble than we know," Mia told her fiancé, "Seriously, Kevin, we have no idea what's happening…"

"We can't hold back, that's what I'm saying. Next time we see her, she has to be the enemy."

Antonio hadn't said much until now, but when he heard Kevin say that his eyes widened. Serena was a very good friend to him. Both the earth girls were. When he had fighting his feelings for Jayden, and worried he was gay and how the others would react, Serena had really stepped up for him. He had never forgotten just how much she had helped him. She hadn't created a safe environment, as it seemed the Rangers didn't care, in a good way, but she had shown Antonio that no matter what, he still had a home and a spot on the team. Since then, though he annoyed her constantly, he considered her to be one of his best friends on the team. And Emily was like his little sister. She was everyone's little sister. She didn't always get her way, but generally everyone made sure she was happy and she got what she wanted. Treating Serena like the enemy was not what she wanted.

"¿Es usted un idiota?" he hadn't spoken in Spanish in a while, knowing the others had a hard time understanding anything more than one or two words, but he couldn't believe what he was hearing from Kevin. Though there was a very, very slim possibility that Serena was doing this because she wanted to, all the other suggestions meant Serena was being forced to fight the team, either through really serious and dangerous blackmail, or Serrator had somehow messed with her head. "No podemos dar la espalda a ella. ¡Ella necesita nuestra ayuda!"

"What?" Mia asked the gold Ranger, having not understood a word he had said. She had been taught English and Japanese. No one ever assumed Spanish would be a required language for the Samurai.

"You pissed him off," Jayden looked to Kevin as Antonio stormed out of the room.

Kevin sighed, "I didn't say I would happily hurt her. But we need to do what needs to be done."

"Serena's done a lot for us," Jayden looked down the hall to Emily and Mike's room, and then to his and Antonio's, "We owe it to her to try and be gentle."

Kevin sighed and nodded his head, "Alright, but if it comes down to her or us, it's her."

"Then let's hope it doesn't come to that," Kate said. She gestured to the map, "I'll keep an eye out for anything weird. You guys go rest up."

Mia took Kevin off to their room. Jayden sat down on his stool and sighed. Then he looked around the house.

"Where's Ji?"

"James is strong enough to come home," Kate said. On any other day that would have been a good thing. No matter who it was, having anyone from the Samurai clan in hospital was a bad deal. But given what had just happened with Serena, James coming home wasn't what Kate would call ideal.

"He'll need to know what's happening…"

"I'll tell them both," Kate assured him. "Go with Antonio. Sounds like he needs to cool off a bit."

Jayden nodded his head and left the room. When he was gone, Kate dropped down onto the couch and pulled her knees to her chest. This was bad. This was very bad.


	9. Kate's Plan

It hadn't been easy, but Ji had brought James home without incident. He had borrowed the van for ease, knowing James wasn't yet ready to walk from the hospital to the Shiba House.

In preparation for James' return, Ji had left Kate at home, asking her to get James' room set up to meet his needs. He would still be stuck in his bed for a while, but was strong enough to spend the rest of his time recovering at home, especially while under Ji's watchful eye.

When Ji got James through the door, they heard a sniff. Taking a little detour, Ji brought James to the common room and lay him down on the couch so he could have a quick talk with Kate. She was the only one around so Ji was certain the sniff had come from her. She was sitting on one of the stools staring at the laptop she had set up on the table. She was so focused on the screen she didn't hear Ji and James come home, nor did she see them enter the room. She had no idea of their presence until Ji put his hands on her shoulders, rubbing them just a little bit. She had a map of the city on the screen and Ji could feel she was tense. Knowing Serena was missing, and knowing just how much Kate cared for the white Ranger, it was obvious she was trying to do something.

"I guess the Rangers had no luck."

"Worse," Kate sighed and sat up straight, peeling her eyes away from the computer for a moment, finally feeling the effects of staring at the screen for so long, "Bad luck."

"Are they all okay?"

"For the most part," Kate nodded. "They hiked all the way up to the mountains and they did find Serena. Rather, she found them."

"They found her?" James asked, sitting up slightly as he heard the news, "She was causing the strange earthquakes, wasn't she?"

"They didn't have time to ask. Serena attacked them. She attacked Emily."

"Why would she do that?" Ji asked. "Serrator…"

"Wasn't nearby, apparently," Kate shook her head and groaned. "She was still gagged, so she couldn't explain herself, but Emily's certain Serena wanted to hurt her. And if Serrator wasn't nearby, why put up the act, right?"

"So what does this mean?" James asked. A lump formed in his throat. If all this was true, he was losing Serena, all because he had to try to man up.

"Emily's convinced Serrator's got something on her," Kate explained, "Antonio's thinking the same way. They both seem to want to help. The others are kind of stuck in the middle."

"Which means…?"

"They want to help, but they're ready to cut their losses," Kate saw James' horrified expression and sighed again, "It's not as bad as it sounds…"

"Serena's done some stupid shit," James said, "but side with the Nighlok? Never! We can't cut our losses! We can't lose her."

"Do you think that's what I want?" Kate asked. Ji could see she and James were both getting worked up, and though they were on the same side, they were getting impatient with each other. Ji walked to the couch and carefully helped James to his feet.

"You need rest. You will be no good to anyone, much less Serena, if you do not give yourself enough time to rest."

"But Ji, Serena's…"

"We will not make any final calls without talking with you first," Ji promised. "C'mon, James."

As Ji walked James out of the room, Kate got up from her chair and started to pace. She couldn't find Serena, she couldn't predict what would happen next, and she didn't want to even think of where this was all leading to.

"I need an in," she muttered to herself, "Someway to make sure we haven't lost Serena yet."

-Samurai-

Mike sat on the bed and held a sobbing Emily in her arms. She wasn't hurt, but she was scared. He couldn't imagine what it felt like being attacked by one of the people she trusted most, or even by the one person who had dedicated her whole life to protecting her. Though Mike felt he was Emily's new "guardian", he couldn't deny everything Serena had done in the past to keep Emily safe. No matter what, Serena was Emily's older sister, and the protective instinct that came with that title didn't seem to want to fade away.

Until this day, when over everybody else Serena had chosen to take on Emily. It had startled the yellow Ranger and left her shaken still now, hours after the fight.

"We're not giving up on her," Mike whispered. Though he did agree somewhat with Kevin about giving up on Serena if the going got too tough, he was going to give everything he had before he let it get to that point. Especially since he and Emily had gotten married, Serena was like a sister to him. He never wanted to give up on his family or the ones he loved. Not until he had given it a long, a strong, and a very fair fight. "If she's still in there somewhere, even buried deep down, we're going to do everything to bring her back. Then she'll spoil you with treats and presents to make up for today."

Emily held Mike tightly. She didn't want treats or presents. She wanted her family. She wanted her big happy family back.

A knock on the door forced Mike to let go, but not without giving her a kiss. He opened the door and saw Mia standing out in the hallway looking deeply concerned. Mike glanced over his shoulder at Emily and then invited Mia inside the room.

"I'm going to see if Kate's making any progress," he hoped Emily's surrogate sister would be able to calm her down and wanted to give them a little privacy. Mia nodded as he left and then she walked to the bed. She looked to Emily with a soft smile.

"You'll be ready next time."

Emily tugged on a loose thread from her blanket, "Why did she have to go after me?"

"One thing I learned about your sister is she's got a reason for everything. They may not always be smart reasons, but she's got the right idea. You and her have the same heart. She just doesn't know how to use it like you do."

"The only thing she's bad at, and it's the thing that kills her."

"She's not dead yet," Mia reminded her. "If she were dead, we would be having a very different conversation."

"Mike says Kevin wants to quit."

Mia shook her head, "He's trying to be realistic. He's not turning his back on Serena. Not until it looks hopeless. I promise, he's still fighting with us."

"Do you think Serrator might still come after me?" Emily asked. "Just because he got what we think he wanted, doesn't mean we're safe. He could still come back, you know."

"Do you think Mike's going to let that happen?" Mia smiled.

"What if Mike does like James? What if he tries to protect me, but Serrator's too smart for him?"

"Mike's an idiot sometimes, but he'll never do that. He knows you've already lost Serena. He would never risk it."

The door opened up without a knock. Emily and Mia both looked over as Mike and Kate walked into the room.

"We need to talk about something," Mike said. Emily looked worried.

"Serena?"

"A little," Mike sat down beside her and took her hand. Kate bit her lip nervously. With Mike she had come up with a very risky plan, but it was still a step up from what she was doing now, which was nothing.

"I'm going on a solo rescue mission."

Emily's eyes shot out of her head. This wasn't as bad as Mike leaving, but it wasn't good either. She had already lost Serena, she had almost lost James, she couldn't lose Kate too. Solo screamed danger.

"You can't! Serrator…"

"Exactly," Kate nodded, "I'll make sure he knows who I am. I'll make sure he knows just how much I'm willing to do to keep Serena safe. Hopefully…"

"Hopefully?"

Kate knelt before Emily, "Listen to me, kiddo. Hopefully Serrator will take me in, like he's done with Serena. I'll swear an allegiance to him or whatever he wants me to do to prove I'm committed only to keeping Serena safe at all costs. I might have to fight you…"

"NO!"

"But I'll know what's going on with Serena. I'll know if she's really against us, or if she's just trying to survive."

"NO!"

"How will we know?" Mia asked.

"If she's trying to survive, I won't be dead," Kate shrugged her shoulders. "She'll be desperate for an ally…"

"You're not sure."

"It's a risk, I know," Kate nodded, "but it's a risk I need to take. This is my job, Mia."

"You were hired to keep the yellow Ranger safe," Mia shook her head. Seeing the distress this plan was causing Emily was making Mia hate it more and more, "Nowhere in your contract does it say anything about white…"

"I keep the Earth Samurai safe. Serena is…"

"You're our ally," Mia growled. "You help us! You can't help Serrator! You can't choose his side."

"I'm siding with Serena," Kate explained. "I'll know what's going on with her, and somehow I'll pass that information to you. And I'll keep her safe," Kate looked to Emily as she said this, "I promise, she'll be safe with me."

"You're on board with this?" Mia asked Mike. He nodded his head.

"It's dangerous, but it's the best plan we've got so far. We've made it this far without Kate helping us out. We're fine without her. Serena needs her more than we do."

"She could get killed!" Mia cried and pulled Emily into her arms to comfort her as she said words she was sure hurt the yellow Ranger, "If this doesn't work out exactly as planned, she could die, and Serena could die too. Serrator isn't a pleasant person to be around when he thinks he's being played!"

"Because sitting here twirling our thumbs is really a big help," Mike rolled his eyes.

"At least we're safe."

"Serena's not! She's in danger anyways."

"Right, so send someone else in the line of fire. Give Serrator a two for one deal."

Mike sighed and took both of Emily's hands, "I know it's a lot," he looked at her, "but I know, you know this has to be done."

"Serena goes. Kate goes. Who goes next?" Emily whispered. She pulled her hands away from Mike and bolted out of the room. She couldn't let this happen. She raced down the halls until she bumped into Ji, who was just leaving James' room. Seeing him, she knew she had a chance of stopping this plan. He cared for Kate a lot. He wouldn't like the thought of her risking her life. Emily jumped into his arms and buried her face in his shoulder, "They want to do something stupid."


	10. Kate's Offer

Emily couldn't believe it. Kate had convinced Ji that her plan was worth the risk. She would go out, by herself, let herself be taken in by Serrator, and then do all she could to stay alive by working for him, while keeping her eyes on Serena.

Though Emily didn't want to say goodbye, she was sure she would never see her aunt again and forced herself to stand by the door as Kate hugged everyone else, spending the most time with Ji. Though he had approved the plan, there was a look of deep worry on his face and tears brimmed his eyes.

"I'll be fine," Kate whispered and she hugged him again, "This is my duty. I've trained my whole life for this."

Off in a corner, Mia rolled her eyes, "You were trained to protect the yellow Ranger."

Kate didn't pay attention to her, nor did she say anything about the dirty looks Antonio was giving her. Though Antonio was thrilled Kate wanted to step up and help Serena, he hated the thought of her turning herself over. Serena was protective, and while Kate was a skilled fighter, she was no Samurai. Kate's presence would mean there was someone Serena needed to keep safe – someone for her to die for.

He hated this plan. He hated it with a passion. Kate didn't mind the looks. In fact, they made her feel better. She was a newcomer and it was nice to see the Samurai already cared for her. Though she was leaving their hands, it felt good knowing they wanted her safe. She knew it meant they would fight extra hard to bring her home.

She gave Ji a kiss and offered him a few more comforting words before she turned to Emily. The yellow Ranger was sulking in a corner, holding Terran in her arms. James was home, but still confined to his bed and could still only receive visits from his son. Caring for him still fell on Emily's shoulders especially.

Kate took the little boy from Emily's arms and gave him a hug before she looked down at Emily, "You can do this."

"You shouldn't do this," Emily frowned.

"You know I have to," Kate pulled Emily into her arms. Given Emily didn't want to say goodbye, the hug was a little awkward. Kate kissed the top of her head, "I need you to do something for me."

"I'm not doing anything for you. Not if you're not here."

"Remember everything you've been taught," Kate told her, "Remember how far you've come, and what you've managed to do for yourself and for your team, without Serena's or my help."

"If you're going to go, just go already," Emily took Terran back and turned away from Kate. She couldn't watch her leave. She was sure that if she saw her leave, she would never see her come back.

Mike pulled Emily into his arms, "I'm sorry."

Emily shrugged him off and took Terran to her room. Mike looked to Kate with a sigh, "You know this means she loves you and she'll do everything to bring you back, right?"

"Help her," Kate nodded.

"Of course."

Ji placed his hand on Kate's back and walked her to the door, "If you're really doing this, you should think of heading out. There are only a few hours of sunlight left. You wouldn't want to get caught facing Serena or Serrator at night."

"I expect a big, fancy restaurant dinner when I come home," Kate smirked. "We'll be long overdue for a second date."

Ji nodded his head, "I will find the best place in town."

Kate smiled, gave Ji one more kiss and then walked out of the house. She didn't take anything with her. No food, no water, no nothing. If she came empty handed she was sure Serrator would be more willing to listen to her, considering she would be unarmed and completely at his mercy.

Hoping this plan would work, Kate started to call for Serena's name. Wherever she was, wherever Serrator was, if they knew they were being searched, they were more likely to come out of hiding.

Kate travelled deep into the forest and far away from the Shiba House. So deep, and so far, she actually made it to the end of the woods, on the opposite side of town. She had never ventured out here, and by the looks of things, neither had anyone else. The land, as far as she could see, had never been touched by man. It was a huge field, perfect for farming, possibly even big enough to build a small town. There were a few trees scattered here and there but for the most part it was all just tall grass.

Kate gulped; she was far from the city, and away from the Gap Sensors. If Serrator turned up now, the Samurai might never know. As it sunk in exactly how dangerous this plan was, Kate felt something hit her knees and then hit her again on the back, forcing her to fall forward to her stomach. Before she could get up, someone stepped on her back. Taking a chance, Kate breathed out, "Serena?"

There was no answer. Instead, the foot lifted from her back and then kicked her in the side, rolling her over. Kate could look up and she saw she was trapped on her back as a sword was pointed to her chest. Though her predicament looked bad, she had gotten what she wanted. The person attacking her was Serena. The reason she got no answer was because she was still gagged.

"I want to help," Kate hurried out, though their seemed to be no rush. Serena didn't seem like she wanted to kill her. "I want to help Serrator."

The look on Serena's face said it all. It was a look of worry, fear, and _'you can't be serious'_. Kate knew instantly Serena was still very much the Serena she knew, and that she had made the right choice by coming out here to make a deal with Serrator.

Kate nodded her head, "I'm serious. I won't lie, I'll protect you. All I want is to keep you safe. I don't care about the others."

Serena seemed angry as she heard that. Kate knew why. The others meant James, Terran, and Emily. Serena valued each of their lives over her own, and would prefer Kate had stuck with them.

"Just take me to Serrator," Kate begged, "Let me talk to him. Please, Serena."

Serena's sword disappeared from her hand as she reached down and roughly pulled Kate up to her feet. Symbol power bound Kate's wrists behind her back and then Serena's hand grasping her arm led her away. Kate walked with Serena across the field until they reached a tunnel that led underground. Considering it was lit, Kate was sure this was where Serena and Serrator had moved their hiding spot.

But there was nothing underground; there was just a small room for a cave with a rock in the middle. Just when Kate thought maybe she would get some time with Serena, a red light appeared under the rock and she and Serena were sucked through it.

They made it to the other side and found themselves on top of the mountains. Serena gestured to a cave, telling Kate to walk in first. Kate did as she was asked and stepped inside.

Serrator was sitting on a chair, playing with what seemed to be handcrafted figurines made of stone. Kate gave them a closer look and saw they resembled the Samurai. Serrator wasn't playing. He was coming up with his next move.

When he heard someone walking back into his cave he looked up. Kate saw he was surprised to see her. Serena was still behind her and when Serrator saw her enter he got up and pulled out a chain attached to a pocket on his belt. He walked up to Serena, ignoring Kate for now, and locked one end of the chain to a collar Kate's hadn't yet noticed around Serena's neck.

"What did you bring back for me?" Serrator asked Serena. He held the chain and walked back to his chair, bringing an obedient Serena with him. Kate saw the chain was never taut. Serena knew what Serrator wanted and did it exactly.

"Well?" Serrator's voice pulled her back to her plan and she looked to him only to see he was addressing her. "Are you an idiot? I asked a question. Do you really expect her to answer, gagged like she is?"

"I want to help," Kate said. She pointed to Serena, "That's my niece, and I'll do anything to keep her safe. I'll do whatever you want, as long as I know you're not going to hurt her."

Serrator turned to Serena, who was on her knees beside his chair, with her hands on her thighs, "Your aunt?"

Serena gave him the smallest of nods. Serrator turned back to Kate, "That would make you the yellow Ranger's aunt…"

"It's not by blood. I've known Serena since she was a little girl. I've helped to train her and only her. I'm the reason she's so good."

Kate was bending her story quite a bit, but she knew she needed to. If Serrator thought she had any allegiance to the Samurai back at the house, it would be a reason for him to doubt her; a reason for him to deny her request and kill her where she stood.

"All you care about is her safety? What if I promise it and send you away? You'll just be another mouth to feed if you stay."

"Send me away, and I'll do everything I can to get Serena back. I don't trust you with her. I might not be strong enough to stop you, but I'm strong enough to give you a few headaches. I'll be another thing to worry about, on top of the Samurai."

"Or, I can promise her safety and kill you…"

"I'm offering you my services," Kate said, "I'll fight the Rangers. I'll kill them if I have to. Just let me stay close to my niece."

"You understand how hard it is to trust a human. You humans have been hunting us Nighlok down for centuries. If you want me to grant you this favour, you will need to prove that you will do as I say, and that I won't have to worry about betrayal. I don't like disloyal pets."

"Who does?" Kate asked.

Serrator reached down to his belt and pulled out a knife. He used it to cut through the bonds around her wrists, "You can prove your loyalty this way. I want my name caved into the skin of a Samurai."

Serrator put the knife in Kate's hand, "That isn't too much to ask, is it?"

"If I do this...?"

"Yes, yes, you will be allowed to stay and keep an eye on Serena. I just need to know you're being honest when you say you don't care for the others. You are, after all, family to the earth clan."

"Family to Serena. I know her parents and her sister. That doesn't mean I care what happens to them."

"Prove it," Serrator gestured to the knife. "I want to hear screams. I want to see tears. The more tears, the better. Go now. By the time you make it, it will be dark."

Kate put the knife in her pocket and hoped she would stab herself with it. Serrator opened up a gap in the wall and told Kate to jump through it, promising her it would lead her back to the underground cave she had come through. Kate did as she was asked and disappeared.

Then, Serrator kept the gap opened and unlocked the chain from Serena's collar. Serena stayed still until Serrator ordered her into the gap.

"If you plan on eating at all tomorrow, I suggest you help her."

Serena didn't want to go, but she knew she had to. Serrator would be watching her every move, so she had no choice but to come back, and if she didn't do the job he had asked her, he would force her to train all day without a meal in her stomach. His training was torture enough when she had food to give her energy. She knew it was worse when she went without.


	11. Serrator Leaves His Mark

It had been a while, but Emily had taken her flute and sat outside on the bench. While the others cleaned up from a late dinner, she wanted to be alone and she wanted to play her flute.

She understood Kate's reason for leaving, and if she was honest, she was glad someone had the courage to go protect Serena from the inside, but it was still a stupid move. Kate was gambling with her life. Serrator, if he didn't need her, would have the time of his life killing Kate, or turning her into the same monster he had turned Serena into. Tears slipped down Emily's cheeks as she imagined having to face off not only against Serena, but against Kate as well.

Serrator would win, that was for sure. Emily couldn't fight them.

On the other side of the gate, approaching the house, Serena and Kate were both nervous, but they knew it had to be done. When they heard the music from the flute coming over the wall, Serena stopped. Kate turned to her but she couldn't say anything, not because she was gagged, but because Serrator was watching and listening and she had to pretend this was easy for her.

"Let's just get it over with," Kate said. "We go in, grab her, do what we have to do, and…"

Tears slipped down Serena's cheeks. While Kate had to act like she didn't care for the Samurai, Serena was free to worry. Serrator knew just how much she cared about the Rangers and how hard this was for her. She would have to put up a mask for the Samurai, but when it was just her, Kate, and Serrator, she could show how much she hated this idea.

Kate's expression softened as she took Serena's hand, "You know we have to do this. Serrator's in charge. What he says goes. I'm not letting anything happen to you. Go in there and bring her out here. We'll never get this done right if the others can hear her."

Serena nodded her head. As Kate disappeared into the woods, she opened the gate. Inside, Emily saw the door opening and looked to it curiously. Everyone who was supposed to be home was home. Nighlok couldn't get in. That could only mean the visitor was human.

Then she stepped into the yard. Emily dropped her flute, called out her name and raced into her arms. Serena caught her and savoured this moment. She had to act like she was acting, but this was genuine. Taking her little sister into her arms, holding her close, keeping her safe; it was one minute of bliss. But them it had to stop. As Emily pulled away, Serena grabbed her, covered her mouth with her hand so she couldn't scream and wrapped her arm around her neck. Then she dragged her off, keeping her eyes on the windows of the house, hoping no one had seen her.

Serena dragged a kicking and struggling Emily deep into the woods. When she met up with Kate, she let go of Emily. Smart enough to figure out this was a trap, Emily tried to run. Kate grabbed her and wrestled her to the ground, on her stomach. As Emily fought to get back up, Serena grabbed her arms and pulled them over her head. She rested her knees on Emily's arms, pinning them down, and with her hands she pressed down on Emily's shoulders. Kate was sitting, straddling Emily's legs. Together, they had the youngest Samurai pinned to the ground, unable to move.

-Samurai-

Antonio pulled his shirt back on after the bandages had been changed on his chest. The cuts were healing up quite nicely, and thanks to Ji work would leave a very fine, very faint scar. It would almost be like he had never been hurt at all.

"We've really got to be careful now," Jayden said as he tossed the used bandages in the trash, "We're losing friends and Serrator's gaining allies. Another injury like that on our side, and we'll be in trouble."

"I'm in fighting form now," Antonio insisted. "You don't have to worry about me. Now we're just treating it for cosmetics."

"You know what I mean, Antonio. Serrator's got two weapons at his disposal now and we've lost two allies. And we can't count on Emily being much help."

"She'd be more help if you didn't send Kate off the to the slaughter house," Mia muttered, still very angered at the decision the others had made regarding Kate. "If you guys thought, for one minute, Emily would stand up against her sister and her aunt, we clearly need to reconsider this team."

"Let it go, Mia," Jayden ordered. "Serena needed an ally. We needed a way to make sure she was safe. It was all we could do."

Jayden looked to Antonio, hoping he could count on his boyfriend to back him up. The gold Ranger shook his head, "You know how I feel about this, Jay. Smarter moves could have been played first."

"I don't take sacrificing a team member lightly. Emily's…"

"Not going to get past this, Jayden," Mia shook her head, "She's not going to fight. We're not going to get her help. We're either going to be down another Ranger next fight because she'll have to sit out, or we'll be spending all our time protecting her. That's dangerous!"

"Then don't protect her," Jayden said. "Emily's strong. She'll do what needs to be…"

Jayden didn't finish his sentence as he was interrupted by a punch to the face. He fell off his stool and hit the ground. It took him a few seconds to realize what had happened, but as he cradled his jaw and his head cleared, he looked up to see Mia leaving the room. He was certain the bruise this would leave on his face would be the size of her fist.

"Dude, what the hell did you do to piss her off?" Mike asked as he stood in the doorway that led directly to the kitchen. He had seen the punch happen and he couldn't believe it. Mia never lost her cool like that. She had never punched another teammate.

"Nothing," Jayden muttered, knowing not to expect much sympathy from Mike in regards to Emily. Though the green Ranger had been on board, hell he had come up with the plan with send Kate out as Serena's rescue team, he was very much aware of how this was affecting Emily and the rest of the team. Mike did what he needed to do, but he didn't have to like it or himself.

He certainly didn't have to like Jayden.

"It was definitely something," Mike said. "I've pissed Mia off a lot more than you have, and she's never knocked me out like that."

"MIKE!" Mia called from the hallway and Mike looked to Jayden wide-eyed.

"Dude, you see what you started! Now she's pissed and she's coming after me!"

"MIKE!" Mia called again as she walked into the room, her arms wrapped tightly around an upset Emily, whose shirt had been torn apart and barely covered her up.

"Em?"

Mia kicked one stool into another, making one cushioned surface long enough for Emily to lie down. She helped the yellow Ranger to her stomach, exposing her back which was covered in blood.

Mike sat down by Emily's head and cupped her face in his hands, "What happened?"

Jayden handed the first aid kit to Mia, who started by cleaning off Emily's back. As she did that, she noticed the source of the blood was mostly coming from Emily's left shoulder blade, where a series of cuts had been made in her skin.

"Serena and Kate," Emily whispered to Mike. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have trust them."

"Serena and Kate did this?" Mike asked, "Why? How?"

"Serrator," Mia muttered. Mike looked up to her and saw she was pointing to Emily's back. Sitting up slightly, he had a look.

"Emily," he sat back down and looked at her sadly. Mia had cleaned up most of the blood, revealing the series of cuts that spelt out Serrator's name. His name had been carved into Emily's back. Mike rested his forehead against Emily's, "We'll save Serena and Kate and Serrator's going to pay. I promise."

"Do whatever you need to do," Emily nodded. "I'll help."

"Emily…"

"It's not as bad as it looks," as she said it, she winced, cursing Mia's timing with the disinfectant. It stung badly, only adding to the pain.

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to do," Mike said. "If you…"

"Serena and Kate are going to do what they have to do to stay alive," Emily winced again as Mia rubbed the disinfectant in. "That's why they did this. We have to fight too. We have to do everything we can. We'll never see them again if we don't."

"I'll help as much as I can. We all will," Mike promised her. Emily smiled and then turned her head, resting it down on the cushion while Mia continued to clean her back. With her head turned, Emily was looking at Jayden and Antonio, and she saw the bruise that was already forming on Jayden's cheek.

"What happened to you?"

Jayden sighed and look over to Mia. She shot him a dirty look. Emily was coming around, but it seemed Mia still hated the plan.

"We're all having a bad day."


	12. Bloodied Hands

It was the early morning. The sun wasn't even up yet, but Mike stirred from his sleep. He couldn't sleep very well, and hadn't had a good rest since Serrator had taken Serena. Tonight, he really couldn't sleep. Tonight, Serena was still gone, Kate had left, and they had both come back temporarily to carve Serrator's name into Emily's shoulder. Though they hadn't gone too deep, and Emily insisted she was okay, Mike knew damage had been done. Emily was favouring her arm. Fortunately, Serrator's name was on her left shoulder. Emily could still use her dominant right hand. Things could have been worse, but they also could have been much better.

Rolling over, Mike wanted to check up on his wife, but she wasn't in bed. Knowing she wouldn't leave by herself, he calmly got out of bed and walked to the dojo. She was already up, training intensely, trying to work around her injured shoulder.

When Emily saw him walk in she lowered her sword, giving the dummy with Serrator's face a bit of a break, "Nightmares."

"I thought so," Mike nodded. He sat down on the bench and Emily took a seat next to him.

"I know why they had to do it," Emily said, "but it's still scary, you know."

"I don't doubt it."

"I'll have nightmares for years of Serena or Kate pinning me down and torturing me."

"I've been having those nightmares for years," Mike chuckled. He wrapped his arm around Emily's shoulders, careful not to hurt her. He gave her a comforting hug, knowing she needed it. He couldn't imagine how she was feeling, "I promised you we'd save them. You know I'm not a liar."

"We have to."

"We will."

"Serena's not making this easy, though. I mean, she was here. She came through the shields to get me. She could have just stayed here. Why didn't she?"

"I'm sure she has a reason," Mike nodded, "but you know what I'm thinking?"

"What?"

"What if we focus less on rescuing Serena, and focus more on defeating Serrator? He can't keep her prisoner if he's dead. Then, he'll be out of the way and you'll never have to worry about him again."

"I guess we've got to defeat him at some point," Emily nodded her head. She gestured to the dummy, "Wanna practice with me?"

Mike nodded his hand, but as Emily reached down to pick up her sword he ripped it from her hand.

"Hand to hand," he told her. "You're getting better, but I want to make sure you're good enough to face Serena and Kate. I don't want them catching you off guard again."

Emily smirked, "Don't think you need to go easy on me just because of my shoulder. I'll still kick your butt."

"I bet twenty of Terran's stinky diapers you won't even come close."

"Forty if I do win."

"Show me what you got."

-Samurai-

Serena hadn't taken her eyes off her hands since she let Emily run home. Her hands had been soaked in Emily's blood. She had pinned her sister down, holding her in place as Kate cut her skin open with a knife and wrote Serrator's name into her shoulder. Emily had screamed and cried and begged for them to stop, but Serena just held her and watched as the blood pooled out of Emily's back and dripped everywhere. Kate must have hit a muscle at some point. Serena was sure there was permanent damage.

She was sure she had just lost her sister. Was there any way she could apologize for that? Was there anything she could do to make it up to Emily?

She had to wonder what James and Terran would think once they found out. Terran it would still be a few years, but she was sure he would one day notice the scar on his aunt's back and he would ask questions. If he was anything like his aunt, he would ask a million of them. If Emily hated her, surely she would tell him.

If James hated her, she was sure she would never see her son again.

As they arrived back into Serrator's cave, they heard a round of applause. Serena looked up and her eyes widened. Standing before her was Serrator, Dekker, and Dayu.

"The whole gang is here," Serrator said. He had one hand on Dekker's shoulder and offered Kate and Serena a smile, "Together, we hold a lot of power."

"What are we doing here?" Dekker asked.

"We're here so we can all form a truce. A promise, if you will. Like it or not, the five of us are now a team. Our own little group of… Nighlok Rangers."

Serrator smirked at Serena specifically as he said that. Serena bowed her head and looked back down at her hands. Dayu followed her gaze and smirked.

"Serrator showed us what you did to your sister," she said. "I didn't think you had it in you."

"I did the carving," Kate said. She wanted to take the guilt off Serena's shoulders both for Serena's sake, and to get the attention away from her.

"Who are you?" Dayu asked, "Don't tell me the Rangers have tried to add another Samurai to their pathetic squad."

"Ladies, please," Serrator pulled Dayu back, silently telling her to shut up. "After we flood the earth, you can do what you want. We will have a whole planet to ourselves. You will never have to see each other again. Hold off all fights at least until then."

"I will ask again," Dekker asked, "What are we doing here? If this was just to tell us not to hurt your precious… pet," Dekker glared at Serena and the collar around her neck, as well as the gag on her mouth, "then you're wasting my time."

"So we have a truce, then?" Serrator smiled, "Good. That's exactly what I wanted to hear."

"So we can leave?" Dayu asked. Serrator gestured to the mouth of the cave. Taking Dekker by the arm, Dayu led the way out. They knew Serrator needed them, but until then, they had time to themselves. Time they didn't want to waste.

Now though, they had agreed to a truce with Serena and the new Samurai. That still left the other Samurai wide open. Dayu smirked maliciously, a plan already forming in her head.

Serrator locked Serena's collar back to his chair with the chain and then took a seat, "I suggest you rest up. After breakfast tomorrow, we will be training all day. I can't have my back-up failing me."

He turned to Kate, "You may rest anywhere. I'll be honest, I don't care whether you choose to stay or leave."

Kate took a seat in the dirt and leaned against the rock wall. Serena curled up beside Serrator's chair and waited for him to fall asleep before she started shedding tears. Kate, who wouldn't be able to sleep if she tried, crawled over to Serena and took her in her arms.

"You'll be okay," she promised.

Serena clung on tightly to Kate and let the tears pour down her cheeks. The blood was still on her hands.


	13. James' Guilt, Emily's Bomb

James was determined to get himself breakfast, even if it meant just walking himself to the kitchen table and waiting for someone to serve him. He had spent the day in bed since coming home to the Shiba House, and that had been after spending time in bed in the hospital. He was tired of it, and with his fiancée in need of help, the least he could do was try to make himself some damn toast.

He sighed as he walked down the hallway, using the wall for support. The house was big, but it wasn't the same without Serena. Her absence was noticeable.

He walked by the dojo and glanced inside. Mike was on the ground, trying to protect himself with his limbs as much as possible while Emily beat him senseless with a pillow. James knew it was all in good fun. He could tell by their laughter. It hurt him, though. Unless he ever got Serena back, he would never have that.

"I surrender!" Mike cried and Emily threw the pillow up in the air in victory.

"I told you! I told you I could kick your butt."

As Emily celebrated her victory with a goofy dance (one James caught Serena doing from time to time), Mike grabbed her by the legs and was about to knock her over, but he caught her and lowered her gently, careful not to hurt her. Then he pinned her down.

"Now who wins?"

James watched them with a heavy heart. Mike was always so gentle, so caring, like James, but he always knew what to do. He never let Emily get in harm's way. He always tried his best to protect her, and he always managed. In the end, Emily could count on him to keep her safe. She could sleep well at night knowing he was by her side and he wouldn't let anything happen to her, just like a husband should.

"You can't claim victory after surrendering to a pillow," Emily giggled and with one hand she pressed against Mike's chest to try and get him to move away from her, "Ugh, get off me. You're too fat."

"That's hurtful."

"It's true. I should put you on a diet."

"Yeah, that's not happening."

"Can I say I did?"

"Sure."

James sighed. They were having fun. They were in love. They were happy. They were safe.

And where was Serena? James had no clue anymore, but he was sure she wasn't having fun, she wasn't happy, and she wasn't safe. Last he had heard, Kate had volunteered to join her, but that didn't mean much to James. Serena wasn't back home. Nothing mattered anymore unless she was back home.

"Uh oh," Emily's laughter suddenly stopped. Mike noticed her face turn green.

"Emily, are you okay?"

Emily shook her head, covered her mouth with her hand and bolted to the bathroom, bumping right into James. She was so focused on making it to the toilet, she had no idea he was there or that she had hit him. James groaned loudly and nearly fell over but Mike was quick to catch him.

"Sorry, dude, are you okay?"

"Fine," James groaned and checked all wounds and bruises. Little Emily running into him felt like he had been hit by a truck. He couldn't imagine it getting worse. He couldn't imagine how the Samurai dealt with this pain on a daily basis.

But he could imagine Serena knew exactly what he was going through. In Serrator's hands, she was bound to feel pain.

"Let's get you something to eat," Mike helped James to the kitchen and sat him down at the table while he glanced continuously over to his bedroom door. Emily's retching could be heard from down the hall.

James glanced over his shoulder. He didn't like Emily throwing up. If she was sick, it was another thing weighing on his mind. He had taken Serena from her. The least he could do was keep her safe and healthy. Serena would want to come back to her sister.

"What's that about?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Mike shrugged. He put some bread in the toaster, "I'll go check up on her. Call me when it pops. Don't try to move around too much."

James nodded his head and watched the toaster. He wasn't making his own breakfast, he hadn't even gotten to the kitchen on his own, but at least he was out of bed.

Then again, Serena had been out of bed for over a week, likely in a worst state than he was. He shook his head. He had to stop thinking this way. Serena had been kidnapped because he had been stupid, but also because she was stronger than he was. She could take care of herself. He would find a way to help her, and he wouldn't do that by focusing on what was likely happening.

He had spent more time in his head than he thought. The kitchen chair being pulled out from under the table brought him back to reality as Emily took a seat, looking very pale. It was hard to imagine just a little while ago she had been laughing and messing around with Mike.

"You look like hell," he told her, hoping she wasn't still more mad than scared for him.

However she felt about him, she was too tired to respond properly, "I feel like I threw up my stomach. You're not a doctor disguised as a coach, are you? Can you tell if my stomach's still inside my body?"

Emily opened her mouth for the inspection. James pulled away.

"You smell like vomit," he fanned the air away from his nose with his hand, and used the other to close her mouth, "I'm sure it's still in there."

"Here," Mike set down two plates at the table, "Plain toast for pukey, toast and jam for the moron."

James sighed but thanked Mike for making breakfast. It wasn't anything special, but because of the cuts to his stomach, James couldn't eat much. As he started to eat his meal, he noticed Emily's left arm held close to her body, as if she was nursing it. She didn't seem to be using it much, and though she was right handed and didn't need her left hand to eat toast, it was still a little odd.

"What happened to your arm?"

"My shoulder," Emily said and turned to Mike. James saw a nod of approval from the green Ranger just before Emily put her toast down and started to remove her shoulder from her shirt. Then she peeled off the bandage, exposing her scar.

James felt his jaw hit the floor and his blood boil, "Serrator? When did he do that?"

"Kate did it," Emily whispered. "Serena helped."

"What?"

"Last night. Serena came here and… she tricked me."

"She would never…" James shook his head. Emily had no reason to lie, but he wouldn't believe it.

"I know she wouldn't, but she didn't have a choice," Emily said. "Whatever Serrator's doing, or done, Serena's doing what she needs to do. We have to do the same. We need to help her."

"She carved _Serrator's_ name into your shoulder!"

"She wasn't celebrating when it was done," Emily put the bandage back in place and then covered up her shoulder. Her face then turned green and she barely had time to excuse herself before she had to take off to the bathroom again.

"I was pretty sure she had thrown up everything in her stomach already," Mike sighed. He sat at the table and looked to James. The older man did not look happy, "Look, dude…"

"Don't dude me."

"James…"

"Do you not know Serena at all?" James smashed his hands into the table and pushed himself up to his feet, "How bad does shit have to be with Serrator for her to willingly mutilate her sister's body?"

"James…"

"And while she's out there, likely going through hell, you're in the dojo messing around with your wife?"

"Her sister," Mike nodded his head. "Dude, I'm keeping her sister safe and happy. She'd thank me for it if she could."

"Well, she can't!" James shouted. "She can't because she's out there, scared, hurt, and trapped in some psycho's hands while you're straddling and giggling, and playing around with her baby sister! You selfish jerk!"

"Me, selfish?" Mike shouted back, "I'm not the one who tried to prove he was a man and threw his fiancée right in psycho's hands!"

James grabbed his plate and launched it at the wall before storming off. Mike quickly realized his mistake and put his head in his hands.

"Open mouth, insert foot… again."

"Mike," he heard a soft, nervous squeak and looked up. Emily was standing in the doorway. Scared she had heard that, Mike tried to apologize. She wouldn't listen though and instead ran into his arms. She buried her face in his shoulder and started to cry. Her body trembled so much Mike started to doubt she had heard his screaming match with James.

"What's wrong?" he gently pushed her away and cupper her face in his hands. He gently brushed the tears away with his thumbs, "Emily…"

Emily shook her head, "It's horrible timing."

"What is?"

Emily whispered something in his ear. Mike's eyes widened. He could almost literally hear a bomb exploding. She had definitely not heard his argument with James.

He hugged her close, an expression of shock still plastered on his face. He took care not to squeeze her too tightly, though.


	14. Dying Breath

Kevin had never seen Mia so livid for so long. By now, the entire house knew she had given Jayden the bruised jaw. Considering she was still so angry, she had been left unpunished. Not even Ji wanted to deal with the scary, angry Mia.

Kevin also insisted Ji drop the punishment for Mia. He found this very unusual for Mia, and if she was angry enough to punch someone, never mind the Samurai leader, right in the face, there had to be something else bothering her.

For everyone's safety, Kevin kept Mia awake from the residents that morning, confining her to the bedroom, insisting it was just so they could talk privately. If he could figure out what was bothering her, if he could calm her down, he would be one step closer to having her back, and the Samurai would be one step closer to having their calm, level-headed Momma Pink back.

But Kevin wasn't doing a good job.

"What's wrong?" Mia had been shrieking at him since they had gotten up two hours before. Kevin had made a mental note to never, ever get on her bad side again. Now that he knew she could unleash this hell, he would gladly give her anything she wanted, no matter the cost. "Should I start listing things?"

Kevin moved his head. It wasn't a nod and it wasn't a shake. It was something in between. It looked more like his head had had a mini seizure. It didn't matter to Mia. She was going to do what she wanted to do, no matter what anyone else thought.

"James wanders out of the house, challenges Serrator, or all Nighlok, and gets his ass kicked!" Mia was doing a replay of everything that happened. Kevin knew all this. He had lived through it, just like she and everyone else, but if it helped her to calm down, he would sit through it. "We have to go rescue him, Serena, naturally, freaks out, races ahead and gets herself kidnapped because that idiot was on his deathbed."

"It was stupid," Kevin agreed. He wouldn't do anything but. If she said the sky was purple, he would make it purple.

"Serena's gone, so what do we do? Oh, we just got another ally. Here's an idea. Let's throw her out like last week's trash! She's not coming home, Kevin."

"She probably won't."

"Not with that attitude she won't!" Mia screamed. Kevin knew he couldn't have won that fight by speaking and made a note to shut up. Where were Serrator's gags when they were needed? He'd gladly wear one.

One second thought, he'd gladly put it on Mia. He loved her to death, and he wanted her to feel better, but his ears were hurting.

"So we stupidly toss away an ally, knowing we're a Ranger down, and she comes back and carves our enemy's name into Emily's shoulder! Can you imagine what kind of hell she went through? Pinned down and tortured by her older sister and her aunt."

Kevin kept quiet. He was a smart man.

"Now Serrator's armed himself with Serena, with Kate, and his own twisted head, Xandred's bound to come back soon. Octoroo's shown us he can put up a fight. Dekker's just an asshole. Dayu's proven to be deadly. Now that we're down to a team of six Samurai and a mentor, anyone who thinks we can win needs to get their head checked! It's a seven on seven fight and we're the only team that wants to play fair!"

"James can…"

"Barely make himself toast, now! We're screwed!"

"Mia…"

"And then Jayden had the nerve to tell me we can't protect Emily? If we can't protect each other, if we can't rely on each other, I don't see the point in even trying! We might as well just toss in the Samuraizers, blend into the city as normal civilians and watch as red, burning, Sanzu Water floods the earth and wipes out all of mankind."

Now Kevin knew what he had to do. He stood up and pulled Mia into his arms. He held her close and he held her tight.

"If we're dead anyways, we might as well die trying. We're still in the game, Mia. We're still fighting."

"We were so close," Mia clung to Kevin desperately as she broke down into tears and sobbed into his shoulder. "A week ago, we were so close to winning we could taste it. It was just a matter of knocking out Serrator, Dayu, and Xandred, and beating Dekker, which we've done before. Now it's all just gone."

"It's not gone," Kevin assured her. "Serrator threw us a curveball, but that doesn't mean we can't still swing. We miss all the shots we don't take, you know that."

"But if we miss anyways…"

"We tried. That's all that's been asked of us. We signed up for this knowing it was do or die. I'm still going to fight. Please tell me you're going to fight with me."

"But…"

"If we do die, I promise you, I'll breathe my dying breath after you so you'll never be alone. We'll do this together. We'll save Serena and Kate, we'll beat Serrator. Dayu and Dekker will be no problem after that. Jayden and Serena can hold Dekker off, we'll pound Dayu into the ground and that's it."

"Xandred and Octoroo?"

"When Xandred comes back, we'll know what we're up against. We still have that Sealing Symbol in our pocket. Once we're done with Xandred, I'm sure Octoroo will go down with the ship. We can do this. I promise."

Kevin sat her down on the bed and kept her in his arms, "And then, to celebrate, we'll throw this big, amazing wedding. We'll spend every penny getting you everything you've ever dreamed of having for your big day and we'll make it all work out."

"Kevin…"

"I'm serious about that," Kevin chuckled, "For my sake and for the sake of whichever sucker you choose as maid of honour, we're going to do everything for you. You terrify me when you're angry."

Mia dried her eyes and sighed, "I promise you immunity. It's not a wedding without the groom. And you won't be allowed to see me beforehand. You won't have to deal with my disasters. The girls will."

Kevin smiled, "I knew there was something good about weddings," he gave Mia a kiss on the cheek, "So do you understand the plan?"

"We fight, we try to win, and we die together."

"No," Kevin shook his head, "We fight. We win. We get married. You kill the maid of honour and possibly the bridesmaids, we live happily ever after, and then, when we're old and wrinkly, we die peacefully."

"Old and wrinkly?"

"Well, I'll be old and wrinkly. You'll still be beautiful as ever."

Mia nestled into Kevin's arms, "I knew there was a reason I loved you."

Kevin smiled at first, then her words sunk in, "Wait, we're engaged, planning a wedding, and the rest of our lives together, and only now you know why you love me?"

Mia nodded her head, "I had a nagging feeling there was a reason, but I couldn't quite figure it out."

"Oh really?"

"Really."

"I promise you I'll hold back my dying breath so you can die peacefully in my warm, safe embrace, and yet me calling you pretty is the reason you love me?"

"I like to be called pretty."

Kevin grabbed a pillow from the bed and lightly smacked her face, "Well, I'm glad you're feeling better," he rolled his eyes playfully and smirked.

"Hey," Mia laughed and tossed aside the pillow, "watch it. Only one fist got to punch today and the other is feeling a little jealous. You know they rarely get action outside the battlefield."

"You're going to be a handful."

Mia smirked, "And this is before you swear to love me for better or for worst. It may not seem like it, but I still have to woo you."

"I'm screwed."

"After the wedding, you'll wish you were screwed," Mia teased. She leaned back into Kevin, hugging him close again, "Do you promise we'll see our wedding day?"

Kevin kissed her forehead, "On my life."


	15. The Plan and The Unplanned

Mike double, triple, quadruple checked the dates on the calendar. He counted them over and over, each time announcing his results to Emily who was sitting on the toilet with her head in her hands. This could not be happening.

Realizing no matter how many times he counted, he would get the same results, Mike opened one of the drawers and grabbed a box. He offered it to Emily, shaking the contents slightly so the rattling would grab her attention. When Emily looked up, her eyes widened and she shook her head.

"I can't."

"We need to know," Mike pulled out a home pregnancy test and held it out for Emily.

"We need to find Serena…"

"I'm terrified too," he knelt before her and held her hands softly, "but we need to know."

Emily sighed and snatched the test from his hands, "Results don't leave the room."

"We'll have to talk about that," Mike told her. He kissed her forehead and then left the bathroom so she could have some privacy. After he closed the door he leaned against it and rubbed his face in his hands. They had always been safe, but it seemed they hadn't been safe enough. More times than he could count he had gotten the speech about taking precautions, and how abstinence was the only guarantee, but he never thought it would happen to him now. He wanted a child. He wanted a child with Emily, but not now. Serena was missing, Serrator was becoming more powerful, Xandred was due back any minute, Dayu was a dangerous bitch and Dekker was psychotic. There was no room in the Samurai life for a baby. Terran was only fitting in because James wasn't a Samurai.

The door opened behind him and he fell to the bathroom floor. He looked up at Emily and she pointed to the counter.

"I can't look."

"Is it ready?"

Emily nodded. Mike jumped up and pulled her into his arms. This was just as hard for him as it was for her. If he was going to look he needed her by his side.

He took a deep breath and looked down. Seeing the results he hugged Emily closer.

-Samurai-

After his fight with Mike in the kitchen, James made it to the common room and crashed on the couch. His body was still recovering and still so sore that the common room was as far as he could go. It didn't offer a lot of privacy, but with the others still in their rooms, it was more than enough for James.

He burst into tears as soon as he hit the couch. He had screwed up. He had really screwed up and there was no way for him to make things better. Serena had been gone for over a week now, trapped in Serrator's clutches, and by the looks of things, Serrator wasn't about to let her go soon. Every night, James had nightmares of the hell she was suffering, and every night he woke up from those nightmares knowing they were very real and he was the cause of them.

"I cannot even begin to understand what you're going through," Ji was sitting on one of the stools when James heard his voice and looked over. "I'm terrified for Kate, and we're still in the very early stages of our relationship. You and Serena, that bond you share, the love you have for each other, knowing she's in danger, and knowing you're to blame, it's got to be tearing you apart."

James rolled over on the couch and turned away from Ji. He didn't want to talk. He had admitted his mistake over and over that now, anytime someone brought it up, they weren't looking to teach him a lesson. It felt like they were rubbing his face in it. It felt like they wanted to see him miserable. It felt like they thought the pain of knowing he had been so stupid wasn't punishment enough.

"I am deeply worried," Ji said, "but it seems our plan with Kate is proving useful. She managed to send out a message last night. It wasn't long, but I know where Serrator is keeping them."

"Why are you telling me, this?" James muttered, "My shoulder's dislocated. My ribs are broken. I'm lucky to be alive. I'm not a Samurai. I can't help."

Ji frowned and got up, "You can't help? I must have the wrong fiancé, then."

"Serrator just handed me by ass on a silver platter, and he managed to convince Serena and Kate to carve his name into Emily's shoulder. If I try to help, there won't be a word to describe how stupid I am. I'll get killed."

"I guess it's decided then. Serena will stay with Serrator. You know, now that I think about it, Serrator probably is a good match for her."

"Ji…"

"He takes care of her, from what I can tell. She wouldn't still be alive today if he didn't. He obviously wants her around; otherwise he wouldn't have taken her."

"Serrator's a horrible monster!"

"He's definitely not as bad as the sulking fiancé on the couch who's given up on Serena. At least Serrator fought for her."

James sat up, "I can't do anything!"

Ji pulled up the map on the coffee table. Instead of Panorama City, all James saw was mountains. Ji hit a button, and the image on the map became a satellite image of the mountains, with everything in crystal clear detail.

"I have many friends," Ji smirked, "One of them was kind enough to let me borrow a few of his toys."

"You stole a satellite?" James asked. Ji shook his head.

"I never said that," Ji gestured to the map, "What we're seeing is live. Now that we know where Serrator's taken the girls, we can keep an eye on their hideout. I will send the Rangers in and we will plan an ambush. If all goes well, Serena and Kate will be back home with us by the end of the day."

"And if all goes wrong?"

"Hopefully nothing will. You have one chance to redeem yourself for this mistake. You will be the Rangers' eyes. I have three cameras watching the areas. This one is focused on the mouth of the cave Serrator's hiding in, and the other two are positioned on the paths leading up to the cave. If you lead them correctly, they should be in and out within minutes."

"Minutes?"

Ji nodded his head, "Even Nighlok need rest. I sent a message back to Kate telling her to expect the Samurai tonight. Are you up to it, or would you rather spend the night sulking?"

James leaned forward, "Go tell the others. I'll think of something."

-Samurai-

When Serrator had promised a tough day, he had been serious. Serena had been ripping through the stones and through the mountain non-stop. As soon as she finished the last bit of the breakfast Serrator promised her, he put her to work. Serena made it about halfway down the mountain. The cuts weren't as smooth as she had made them before and the sides were threatening to cave in on her, but Serena didn't care anymore. The faster she cut through mountain, the faster this task would be over.

Up at the top, watching from the ledge, Serrator stood with Kate, admiring Serena's work.

"You have raised one very powerful Samurai."

"You'd be amazed what humans can do," Kate nodded her head. "We're stronger than you think."

"I know that," Serrator smirked, "You are the reason I have not yet reached my goal."

Suddenly, the ground startled to tremble more than what it usually did as Serena worked. Kate stepped back from the edge, scared it would cave in. Serrator stepped back with her and waited out the earthquake. When it stopped there was an eerie silence. Serrator peeked over the edge.

"It seems she has had enough."

"Serena!" Kate called down, hoping her voice would echo and reach far enough down the crack for Serena to hear her. Serrator disappeared inside a Gap and returned moments later with a limp Serena in his arms.

"I've got to say," he dumped Serena's body in Kate's arms. Clearly he wasn't willing to carry the woman who had drained herself of all her energy just to make him happy, "I'm very impressed by the progress she's made today. If she works like this again tomorrow, we'll have cut right through the mountain."

Kate looked down at Serena. She had never seen the white Ranger so pale. Kate wasn't an expert on symbol power, but she knew it was draining. Cutting through stone, dividing a mountain into two was a lot of work and it required a lot of energy. It was no surprise Serena was down and out, but Kate was alarmed by just how down and out she looked.

"Serrator, I don't she can work tomorrow. You'll have to give her a day, maybe two, to rest."

Serrator waved his hand, signalling for Kate to follow him as he jumped through a gap. Sighing, Kate stepped through and landed inside the cave. She set Serena down by the chair and Serrator uselessly locked her collar to the chain to keep her from running off. Serrator then sat down in his chair and leaned his head back. "Go hunt for me. I'm too exhausted from all that work."

Kate knew not to argue with him. She checked up on Serena one more time before she walked out of the cave. She would have to bring back food, at least enough for Serrator, but it wasn't likely Serena would wake up soon to eat, and even less likely Serrator would remove her gag until breakfast the following morning. He had Serena on a strict diet. It was another way he was controlling her and it was working. As far as Kate could see, Serena was completely broken. She was his pet, and Kate needed to get her out.

Serrator didn't care much for Kate. He never chained her up like he didn't Serena, because it didn't matter to him if she chose to stay or leave. He hadn't asked for her, and he didn't want her around. Kate was pretty much free to do everything she wanted, as long as it didn't interfere with Serrator's plans. And he never kept tabs on where she was going.

So Kate ventured far from the mouth of the cave and pulled out a very slim, emergency phone Ji had given her just before she left. It was slim enough to hide in her pocket and Serrator hadn't yet noticed it. She dialled the emergency number, the only number in the phone, and waited for someone to pick up.

-Samurai-

Mike clasped his hand around Emily's as they sat in the common room. They had just found out they were pregnant when Ji walked into their room, almost catching them with the pregnancy test in their hands. They didn't have time to celebrate or worry about the news because Ji told them they were getting together for a meeting that involved rescuing Serena. Silently, Mike and Emily both agreed the news could at least wait until Serena came home.

At least. Once she was home, Mike and Emily would talk about their options. Emily was pregnant, and being a Samurai Ranger and being pregnant was not a good combination. Emily had a duty not just to her team, but to the entire world. No matter what, she was supposed to fight the Nighlok's forces and aid the other Samurai in sealing Xandred and all the other Nighlok away in the Netherworld for good.

At the same time, as a mother to-be, it was her responsibility to create a safe environment for her child to grow. Running into battles and fighting a war was in no way safe.

"This could go very wrong," Kevin shook his head at Ji's plan to sneak into Serrator's hideout to take Serena and Kate back. "Serrator's strong. If we walk into his home, he'll have the advantage."

"And Serena's already proven she'll do what he asks," Mia pointed out and glanced quickly at Emily's shoulder. "They'll be outnumbered, but that won't really matter much."

"Serrator sleeps, right? Just don't wake him up," James shrugged, "You guys have to try this. If it were any of you in Serena's place, you know she'd already be climbing that mountain, right?"

James looked to Emily in particular. Emily put her hand on her stomach and gulped, but she also nodded her head. She did owe it to her sister to try everything.

"James is right," she said, "This is the closest we've come in a while. It's worth a try."

"Emily, you can barely use your left arm," Jayden told her, "You're the most vulnerable. If we do get Serena back, she'd kill us for bringing you along in your condition."

Jayden had no idea how true his words were. Mike squeezed Emily's hand a little tighter. He was worried, but Jayden's words had given him an idea.

"So we cover her. Kate's in there with Serena. If Serena really is as hurt as we think she is, Emily will have Kate's help to get her out of the cave and back home. All we have to do is cover Emily long enough for that to happen."

It was perfect for Mike. Not only would he and the others be protecting Emily and his child, but they would also get Serena back home where she belonged. Though the plan was still very risky, this held the least danger for Emily and for his child.

"I can show Antonio the symbol for home," Jayden looked to his boyfriend. Though Antonio had come a long way in his recovery since having his chest torn apart by Storm, Jayden was still worried and didn't want Antonio working too hard, "You'll go with Emily. Cover her, but as soon as you have Serena and Kate, you use the symbol and come home."

Antonio nodded his head. He didn't like the thought of leaving the others behind, but there was nothing he could do.

"Hopefully, we can sneak past Serrator when he's sleeping," Mia said, "but I guess four of us holding him off will work. Once Serena's gone, though, we're going to have to run like hell. Serrator's going to be pissed."

Just then the Samurai heard a ringing from Ji as he fumbled around his kimono. He pulled out a very small phone and answered it, "You cannot imagine how pleased I am to hear from you."

"Kate," Antonio grinned, seeing the look on Ji's face, "He only smirks like that when he's talking to Kate."

"You're not going to be too pleased once I you hear what I have to say," Kate said, "You guys need to come up with a way to get us out of here and fast. Serena's just torn through half a mountain and she's not looking too good. You don't have to have Symbol Power 101 under your belt to know she's done."

"We have a plan," Ji assured her, "Keep her close to you until the Samurai arrive."

"Serrator's usually asleep by sundown. Don't do anything until then… but hurry up. I'm really worried Ji."

"Everything will be fine. I promise," Ji said and then hung up. He looked to the Samurai, "Go, now!"

The Samurai morphed and raced out the door. James already had his eyes on the three images before him. It wouldn't be easy monitoring them all at once but he was determined to do a good job.

"I know it's going to be hard," James spoke into the communicator he would be using to keep in touch with the Rangers while they were out on the mission, "but try to stay on camera. I can't help you if I can't see what's going on. If Serrator does spot you, get him outside."

"We'll do what we can," Jayden promised over the device. He, Antonio, Kevin, and Mia were racing through the woods, focused on their mission. Trailing behind them was Mike and Emily.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Mike grabbed her arm to stop her running for a moment. She nodded her head.

"She's my sister. I have to do this."

"I'll keep you covered. We all will."

"I know," Emily nodded, "You always do. I'm more worried about you. When we get away with Serena, you're going to be alone with Serrator."

"Alone and pissed off. Not only did he kidnap my sister in-law, but because of him I can't celebrate properly when I find out my wife is pregnant."

"I'm scared."

"One day at a time," Mike pulled off his helmet and gestured for Emily to do the same. When she did he gave her a kiss, "I promise, this will be a good thing."

"I trust you," Emily smiled. She put her helmet back on and started jogging backwards, following the trail the others left, "C'mon, before they realized we're behind."


	16. In And Out Rescue

The Samurai were climbing their way up the mountain, hoping they could draw as little attention to themselves as they could. Serrator didn't have eyes in the sky, but he wasn't blind to his surroundings either. He had a knack for knowing when a Ranger was near. With six approaching his hideout, he was sure to suspect something.

"You guys need to hurry it up," James' voice said to each of them. He was back at the Shiba House, still very much hurt but more than willing to help bring Serena home. With help from Ji's friend, he had a live stream of what was going on just outside Serrator's hideout cave and right on the two paths leading to that cave. Serrator couldn't ambush the Rangers without James knowing and with communication solid between him and the Rangers, they would know as soon as he knew. "Kate's pacing like crazy just outside the cave. I take it that's a sign Serrator's clueless."

"We're going as fast as we can," Jayden whispered. He pulled Antonio up to another ledge and the two of them helped the rest of the team.

"Careful," Mike said as they lifted Emily. Kevin chuckled and shook his head. He gave Mike a pat on the shoulder.

"We're in the mountains. This is her '_turf'_."

"Just be careful," Mike looked up at Emily as she assured him she was okay. He reached his arms up and grabbed hold of both Jayden and Antonio. They lifted him up carefully, with a little help from Kevin at the bottom, and then the three boys pulled Kevin up the ledge.

"There's a path the rest of the way," Mia said and pointed down a trail that followed the side of the mountain. It was a narrow trail and a steep drop, but it was better than climbing. Mike stuck close to Emily the entire way up. She rolled her eyes.

"Are you going to be that kind of husband?" she whispered.

"Yes," Mike answered quietly and nodded his head, "In case you haven't noticed, we're hundreds of feet above ground and about to face a nasty Nighlok. I'm protecting you and baby as much as possible."

"Just don't make it too obvious," she told him. "Just be husband, not future daddy. It's more than enough."

-Samurai-

A little higher up in the mountain, Kate was pacing back and forth. She knew help was coming, but it wasn't coming fast enough.

She had brought back enough food for Serrator to eat. He had devoured it and then went right to sleep. He made no sign of removing Serena's gag anytime soon so she could eat and get back some energy nor did he seem to care that she hadn't woken up since she had passed out.

"C'mon, guys," Kate clutched her emergency phone in her hand. If the Samurai weren't here soon, she would have to call Ji and beg him to get a Plan B into action. The longer Serena was unconscious and without help, the worst Kate imagined her condition being.

"PST!"

Hearing a sound, she turned her head. From behind a rock the Samurai were peeking at her, trying not to draw too much attention to themselves. Kate checked Serrator's state over her shoulder, and satisfied he was still dead to the world, she ran over to the rock.

"You have no idea how happy I am to see you guys here."

"What, you thought we'd leave you with this maniac?" Antonio asked.

"Just get us out of here," Kate said, "We'll talk about everything once we get home."

"Where's Serena?" Emily tried to look inside the cave but it was getting dark. Kate looked to her sadly as vivid memories of their last encounter flashed through her mind, and Emily's cries rang loudly in her ears. Never in her life had she ever caused anyone that much pain before. She had never once betrayed her friends or hurt her family. What Serrator had asked her to do had been cruel. Serrator forcing Serena to help had been cruel. What Emily had gone through, the pain she had suffered, and the fact that the two people who tortured her had been her sister, whom she loved and adored with all her heart, and her aunt, whom she had trusted from birth to keep her safe was… torture wasn't a strong enough word. Kate didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't believe Emily was here with the others. She wouldn't have blamed her for a moment if she had decided to stay behind; if she had decided her injury was too sore to help the rescue team, and that Serena and Kate were no longer worth the effort.

"Kate, where is Serena?" Emily repeated. Kate shook her head to clear her thoughts and gestured to the cave. She could apologize later. Her priority needed to be Serena's safety.

"She's inside."

"Can you bring her here? James is watching from a camera in the sky. If we stay on screen we're safer."

Kate shook her head, "You need to come in."

Kevin summoned his Hydro Bow and pointed it at the mouth of the cave, where he could only just make out Serrator's form, "We'll stay out here. If he moves, I'll shoot and Mia, Mike, and Jayden will run in. Antonio and Emily, go with Kate."

"Be careful," Mike told Emily as she got up with Antonio and ran into the cave. Mia noticed Mike's shaky hands and took them in her own.

"You've been fidgety all day."

"I'm just worried."

"We're this close," Mia held her thumb and index finger close together, "Everything will be fine."

"I hope so," Mike nodded and looked back at the cave.

As Kate led Antonio and Emily into the cave, trusting they had a plan, she signalled for them to be quiet. Serrator was out for the night, but he had sensitive ears. Getting Serena out was going to be a challenge.

Antonio noticed almost as soon as he saw Serena that she was chained to Serrator's chair, with a lock securing the chain leash to the collar around her neck. He quickly got to work picking the lock while Emily dropped to her knees beside her sister and tried to wake her. Kate watched sadly. She had already tried but to no avail.

"Serena?" Emily whispered as softly as she could. Serrator was only inches away from her. "Serena, wake up. It's me. It's Emily. We're here to save you."

"Got it," Antonio very carefully removed the chain from Serena's collar and lifted her into his arms, "We'll wake her up at home, Em."

"Do you know the symbol?"

"Jayden showed me on the way up," Antonio nodded. He gestured for Kate to come closer and put Serena in her arms, "The four of us are going straight home."

Serrator's eyes shot open, "Oh, Rangers, don't tell me you're going to take my pet and leave?"

Kevin's arrow was shot instantly, but Serrator managed to avoid it. He had seen it coming. After Serena's fiancé's stupid mistake, Serrator suspected the entire team would come try their hand at defeating him. When he saw only two of them in the cave, he had been certain the others were nearby.

"Antonio, Emily, run!" Mike cried as he, Mia, and Jayden raced into the cave to distract Serrator. He didn't mind them at first and instead turned to Kate, quickly grabbing her arm before she got too far. He would keep her and Serena close.

"I should have known not to trust you," he pulled her closer and then held his other hand out. The same goop covering Serena's mouth suddenly shot out, catching Emily's legs and it sealed her feet to the ground. Mike instantly stood between her and Serrator.

The Rangers all stopped. Serrator even stopped. He was willing to make a deal. He ripped Serena from Kate's arms and held her tight while pushing Kate to the ground. She crawled over to the Rangers.

"Guys, what's going on?" James asked over the communicator, "You ran into the cave. What happened?"

Jayden didn't answer. No one did. They kept their attention on Serena and Serrator.

Suddenly, the Nighlok held Serena's limp body out, as if offering her to the Rangers, "She has most of the power I need. I'm willing to make a deal."

"Hand her over, Serrator," Antonio growled.

Serrator shook his head, "Trust me, gold Ranger, you'll want to hear the conditions of my deal before you make a decision."

"We're not making any deals," Kevin said.

"What's going on?" James asked again. Emily, who had been struggling to free herself from the goop whispered very quietly exactly what was going on. James no longer had his eyes on them, but he was an extra brain they could use to get themselves out of this mess.

"I give up Serena," Serrator offered the Rangers, "You can have her back, until I need her again. Of course, at her level she will need some help performing as my back-up plan. In exchange, I keep yellow."

Emily's eyes widened. Fortunately she had her helmet on so Serrator couldn't see the shock. He had no idea, but he had just put her between a rock and a hard place. Under any other circumstance, Emily would gladly trade herself for her sister, knowing her friends would do whatever it took to bring her back home. But recent discoveries meant that decision wasn't easy. Emily didn't have just her own life in her hands. She was with child. Everything she did, her child did. Every decision she made affected her child.

"Take off your boots," James whispered in her ear. While the others stood in her defence and tried to get Serena back, Emily listened to James.

"My boots?"

"Don't power down. Just slide the boots off your feet."

Emily looked down at her feet. She knew, despite his stupidity, James was a smart man. When Serrator had trapped her feet in the goop, he had only trapped her boots. There was no goop on her skin. With the other Samurai forming a wall around her, hiding her from Serrator's sight, and their focus on Serena, Emily slipped out of her boots without anyone knowing.

"I'm out."

"You can throw symbols, right?"

"I can aim them at something," Emily whispered.

"How good is your aim?"

"As good as it needs to be."

"Do you know home?"

Emily shook her head, "Not really."

"I have the book. I'll explain it to you," James said and Emily listened very carefully. She only had one shot. She couldn't mess this up.

Meanwhile, Serrator finished offering his deal to the Rangers, knowing they wouldn't go for it, but it killed time while he thought of another plan.

"I want one of the earths," he said, "You're not leaving with both. If you won't leave the yellow, then I'm keeping white."

"We don't care what you want," Mia shook her head and pointed her sword as Serrator. He threw Serena over his shoulder, using her body to cover himself up as much as he could. Mia lowered her sword and growled.

Serrator took a step back. Behind him, the Rangers could see a faint red glow, that got brighter and brighter with every second. They had very little time left. As soon as he jumped through the gap, this mission would have been for nothing.

"Home!" Emily shouted from behind them as a symbol shot out and hit Serena in the butt. As Serrator tried to jump into the Gap, Serena disappeared from his arms. Emily pushed her way past the Rangers and ran for the closing portal. She needed to go home quickly with her sister, and she was sure no one would object. She jumped through just as it closed up, disappearing completely and leaving Serrator wide open.

"Symbol Power: flames!" Jayden cried, lighting a fire under Serrator's feet. Mia smirked. This would be fun.

"Symbol Power: wind!"

The winds fueled the fire, making it burn hotter and spread faster than Serrator could run. Needing cover, he dove into his open gap.

"Save your energy," Kevin told the pink and red Rangers once Serrator was gone. "He'll be back and he won't be happy. We'll need our strength."

Mike picked up a rock and launched it into the wall, "Why does he always have to run just as we're about to kill him?"

"Because it was in his best interest," Kate said. She looked to the Rangers sadly, "He retreated, but that doesn't mean we've won."

"What do you mean?" Kevin asked. "You're safe, Serena's safe…"

"I'll explain everything that happened when we're home," Kate sighed. "If I'm allowed home. Honestly, I can't believe you guys came."

"Can't let the enemy have too many friends," Mia muttered with a shrug of her shoulders. "We'll talk at home. Let's just get out of here."


	17. Need To Be Prepared

Emily was thrown to the ground as her symbol dropped her from the air, forcing her to power down. Because she had jumped through it, her landing was far from graceful. She didn't complain about the pain or the carelessness of the symbol once she saw it had dropped her inside the gates of the house, within the safety of the shields. Now, even if the Samurai couldn't hold Serrator off, he couldn't get to Serena.

Jumping to her feet, she saw Serena in the grass just a few feet away. She dropped to her knees beside her sister and tried to wake her up again. She hoped, prayed even, that Serena's sleeping state was just because she was tired, and not because she was hurt. When Serena wouldn't wake up, Emily burst into tears and punched her in the chest.

"You can't do this!" she shouted at her sister, "You can leave to save James, come back and torture me, only to leave me again like this!"

"Emily, it's okay," Ji touched her back and gently pulled her away before he took Serena in his arms and carried her inside. He heard Emily's screaming from the house and rushed out to take Serena from her. He would figure out what exactly was wrong once he got her inside. Ji thought Emily would come inside with him, but she curled up in the grass and sobbed. He wanted to comfort her, but he had a job to do with Serena. Hoping the others would make it home quickly, he had to leave her to cry by herself.

In the common room, James saw Serena being carried off to their room and he sighed in relief. She was safe: mission accomplished. However, he wasn't done his job.

"Guys, Serena's home," he said to the others, "Get back here as fast as you can. A fight with Serrator isn't worth the effort today."

"He retreated," Jayden replied, "We're on our way."

"He retreated?" James asked, a little surprised to hear that. Serrator had been known for running when things started to look bad, but given how bad things had been for the Rangers, James had doubted getting Serena and Kate back would be so easy. "Why would he retreat?"

"He'll be back, don't worry about that," Jayden sighed.

Suddenly, there was a light in the common room which blinded James. When it faded, James saw the Samurai standing before him home safe and sound. He was relieved to see they had made it back, and happy to know his plan had worked. He couldn't see what exactly had happened in the cave, but his plan with Emily had helped get Serena home. It didn't make up for what he had done in the slightest, but it was a tiny step in that direction. At least he managed to bring her home.

The others thanked him for his work except for Mike, who instantly ran off to look for Emily. The Samurai all rolled their eyes. Mike had always been protective of her, but now he was taking it a step further, never wanting to leave her side.

"How is Serena?" Mia asked as they took a seat. She asked her question to James, but got an answer from Kate.

"Not well. Serrator's been working her hard."

"How hard?" Kevin asked.

"Imagine parting the entire ocean."

"Which one?"

"Does it matter?" Kate shrugged, "Think you could do it?"

"Not without killing myself," Kevin shook his head, "I don't have that kind of power. I don't think any of my ancestors ever had that kind of power."

"Serena's been splitting the mountain, like you saw," Kate explained, "Serrator insisted it was training. He wants her ready as a back-up in case something goes wrong in his big plan. He's also working with Dekker and Dayu. The five of us made a truce. I'm sure the truce will be broken once Dayu and Dekker know Serena and I got away."

"So, explain the new tattoo on Emily's shoulder," Mia crossed her arms over her chest. Though Emily had realized that had been a survival move for Kate and Serena, Mia was still pissed off about it.

Kate lowered her head sadly and looked at her hands. She hadn't enjoyed that part, "If I was going to convince Serrator to let me stay with Serena, I had to prove to him I didn't care for you. He knew I was Serena's aunt, he knows that makes me Emily's aunt."

"So you carve his name into her shoulder. You kidnap her and torture her…"

"Mia," Kevin took her hand. He could see she was upsetting Kate, and though he wasn't too happy with Emily's new scars either, he figured there was a reason for them, "let her explain."

Tears welled up in Kate's eyes, "Serrator asked me to do it. If I wanted to stay close to Serena, I knew I had to do it. It took everything I had to… pin her down… the knife… I haven't slept much, but when I close my eyes I see it. I don't think I'll ever forget it."

"And you're not the one with a scar on her shoulder."

"Mia," Kevin squeezed her hand, "Do you remember our talk?"

"That has nothing to do with this," Mia shook her head, "Kate…"

"Emily's fine," Kevin reminded her. "She wasn't going to come out of this unscathed. And Serena and Kate are home. This isn't a perfect world, but at least things are working out for us. Can't you just be happy the team is back under one roof?"

Mia sulked in her seat and didn't say another word for the rest of the conversation, which didn't last much longer as Ji came out from Serena and James' room, hanging his head sadly.

"She's home. That is all I have to say."

James was instantly on his feet, "What do you mean, that's it?"

"She has used a tremendous amount of symbol power."

"Is she okay or not?"

"I have not been able to remove the gag…"

"I saw Serrator do it," Kate said, "He would feed her a couple of times a day, if she was lucky. He'd take the gag off. It's painful, but I'm sure she'd appreciate it."

"Is she okay?" James growled. They were avoiding his questions and there was a horrible feeling in his stomach. He wanted answers.

"I have done all I can for her. She is a strong young woman…"

"Yes or no," James clenched his fists, "Is she going to be okay?"

"I don't know," Ji shook his head. "Time will tell."

James fell back into the couch, feeling as though he had been hit by a truck. Serena was out of harm's way, but the damage was done. Again, James had to sit by and helplessly watch as the love of his life fought for her life.

Just then, Emily and Mike walked into the room. Emily was understandably very upset when she looked to Ji, but she got the nod she was looking for and raced to Serena's bedroom. Mike just went to sit down on his stool.

"Is she okay?" Antonio asked.

Mike sighed, "Guys, she's going through a lot right now. Please just give her space."

-Samurai-

Emily opened the door to Serena's room and saw the very last thing she wanted to see, but wasn't surprised at all. Serena's bedroom looked just like her bedroom back at home when she had been ill, and Serena looked just as weak. She closed the bedroom door before grabbing a chair and pulling it to the side of the bed. She took Serena's hand. She hadn't heard Ji's assessment, but she knew things were bad. She had been around a sick Serena long enough to know when there was nothing more that could be done. It all depended on Serena.

Emily felt like she had said everything before. Serena knew how much she loved her. She knew how much she needed her. She had heard all the promises of what Emily would do if she got better. She had heard all the fun things they would do together. There was nothing more to say, so Emily didn't waste her time on that. A simple kiss on Serena's hand let her know all those were once again valid on the sole condition that Serena woke up and got better. So Emily shared something else. Something she didn't want anyone else knowing about just yet. She had big news to share, and aside from Mike, she wanted Serena to be the first to know.

"I'm pregnant. Well, I think I'm pregnant. I was throwing up, I'm a little late, and the test had that stupid plus sign on it that means there's something growing inside of me. Mike said he would take me to the doctor's tomorrow. We'll know for sure, and I'll tell you if it's your turn to be an aunt or not."

There was a silence. Emily expected the silence and was a little thankful for it. She didn't want Serena actually knowing the big news yet, but at least she could say she had told her. At the same time, Emily wouldn't have been too upset if Serena woke up and started yelling at her.

"I know what you're going to say. You're going to get mad at me, like I got mad at you, and you're going to yell at me for being irresponsible, and yell at me for being pregnant while doing my duties as a Ranger, and you're going to yell at me for being your baby sister and getting pregnant, but don't worry, Mike and I are going to figure all that out. Nothing's going to happen to me, and nothing's going to happen to baby. Mike will make sure of it."

Emily paused for a moment and then squeezed Serena's hand, "Speaking of Mike, please don't kill him. He is the father and I kind of want him around to help me. And I want you around. You've done this before. You know what you're doing."

Emily gave Serena a kiss on the forehead and then sat back down and rested her head on the mattress. She gently stroked the back of Serena's hand with her thumb, "Alright, anytime now you can wake up. Sooner rather than later, please. Oh, and if it isn't too much to ask, wake up and be okay. Don't do the whole wake up for a few minutes and then slip into a coma or something. That's just not cool. It's a really, really mean prank."

A knock on the door interrupted Emily's conversation with her sister. James stumbled in, limping slightly as a result of a his injuries, which were getting better but still left him in a lot of pain.

"Ji says…"

"It's up to her," Emily nodded.

"How do you know?"

"She's my sister."

"If you want to cry, I can…"

"I'm not crying. Not anymore," Emily shook her head and turned to look up at Serena. Then she whispered, "At least, not until the hormones kick in."

"What was that?"

"I'm not crying," Emily lifted her head from the mattress and looked to James, "Didn't Mike tell you I wanted space?"

"Yeah, but I wanted to see Serena…"

"Then see," Emily snapped.

"You're mad at me, I get it…"

"I'm not mad. I'm frustrated."

"With what?"

"Everything."

"Emily…"

"Just stop talking. You can stay here, just don't talk to me."

Deciding Emily's bad side wasn't where he wanted to be, James did as he was asked and sat in silence as he waited for Serena to wake up. He knew he could be waiting for a while, but there was nothing else for him to do. After a long silence he heard Emily sigh, "James."

"Yeah?"

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

"This is just really bad timing. I mean, it's never good timing, but it's just really… bad. I need her."

"No you don't," James shook his head, "You'll be fine, no matter what happens. You're strong, and you've got everyone to support you. Especially me. If there's anything you need…"

"Parenting books," Emily whispered. James gave her a funny look, "You're fine to raise Terran, but I want to be ready to lend a hand," she lied and hoped James couldn't tell how hard it was for her to lie. "Parenting books are good, right?"

"Yeah, but Emily, I'm not going to ask you to…"

"I'm volunteering. Tomorrow afternoon, do you think we can go to the bookstore and buy parenting books, before Serrator makes a comeback?" Mike had promised to take her to the doctor in the morning. He would tell the others they were going out for brunch. She didn't want to go to the bookstore with Mike to get parenting books, knowing the others would be suspicious. She figured if she went with James, she could get the books she wanted and it would just look like she was preparing for the worst in Serena's case. No one would ever suspect she was pregnant. And it couldn't hurt if, god forbid, Serena didn't make it and Emily had to step up as godmother.

"I guess Serena lost hers in the rock storm and the flood."

"Yeah."

"Alright, I'll take you," James nodded.


	18. Awake

Dinner time was just around the corner and Serena still wasn't awake. James had hoped him leaving the house would be when she woke up, but he had managed a trip to the bookstore with Emily, and Serena had managed to sleep through. Now, the others were outside training. They anticipated another attack from Serrator, given how easy he had run as soon as Serena had been taken from his hands, and the Rangers wanted to be ready. James knew they would be. They were all pissed, and they were all determined to the fight. If Serrator really was smart, he would keep his distance for a long time.

So James sat by Serena's bed and stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. He still couldn't believe he had let this happen to her, and he couldn't believe how his one stupid mistake had hurt everyone.

"If you won't wake up for me, can you at least wake up for Terran?" James pleaded with her. Unlike Emily, he had many promises to make to a sick Serena, and he was going to try them all. He had prepared himself to maybe one day seeing her so injured and weak, but he had never imagined it would be his fault. He had been through some hard times in his life, but this was certainly the hardest, and nothing would compare.

James looked out the window. Emily had decided to cut her training short and was now playing in the yard with Terran, keeping his mind off the fact that his mother wasn't around.

James sighed, "Your little boy misses you. Every morning he walks around and I know he's looking for you. You can do this to me, Serena, I know I deserve it, but please don't leave Terran."

He brushed some stray strands of hair away from Serena's face and then sighed. She had every right to want him to suffer, but there were other ways of hurting him that didn't hurt the others. He would go through anything as long as it meant she and her family and the Samurai were okay.

Suddenly, she held his hand and squeezed. Her grip nearly crushed the bones in his hand, but she didn't quite have the strength for that, yet. He saw her eyes open and there was a look of panic and hurt. James stood up and leaned over the bed so she knew he was there. Somehow, she found the strength to throw her arms around him and hold him tight. James had never seen her so scared before. He hugged her close; trying everything he could to comfort her.

"It's okay," he whispered as her stroked her hair and her back, "You're home. Serrator can't get you. It's okay. Everything's going to be okay."

Serena continued to cling to him as horribly vivid memories of her time with Serrator clouded her vision. She could still feel the gag covering her mouth, despite the fact that it had been removed. She could see his face glaring down menacingly at her, promising her safety while at the same time promising nothing but pain. She could see the chains and the chair, and could hear the chain rattling every time she moved. She was still in Serrator's hands. She was still his pet. Her life was his to own. She couldn't hear James trying to comfort her, she couldn't see her room in the Shiba House, and she could no longer feel James' arms around her.

"I'm so sorry," James gave Serena a kiss on the cheek. He knew she was still struggling and he could only hope something was getting through to her. "You'll be okay, I promise, I'll do everything I can so that you're okay."

His voice broke through her thoughts somewhat, but she couldn't understand what he was saying. Instead, she focused on what her mind was putting her through now: the first attack. The Rangers had come to rescue her, and all she had done was savagely beat into her sister – at least in their eyes she had. She didn't accept their hand when they tried to bring her home. Instead she attacked and ran back to Serrator, only to do it again.

Then, when Serrator spotted Kate out on her own, getting too close to the gap that led to the mountains, Serena had been sent out to make sure she didn't discover the hideout. Serena hadn't attacked then – she hadn't gotten the chance, but she had taken Kate hostage, even though she was willing, and she had brought her back to Serrator, unsure of what the monster would do to her. Serena had endangered Kate.

Finally, she had lured her sister into a painful trap. She had returned home, only to drag Emily away and out to the forest, and then pin her down while Kate used a sharp knife to carve Serrator's name in her shoulder. Serena couldn't imagine what hurt more: the knife, or having her aunt and older sister painfully scar her body against her will. Emily's cries were something Serena would never forget. The way it felt to hold her squirming sister down was a feeling Serena would never forget.

"_You're home,"_ finally, she could understand James' voice. She remembered she had her arms around him. She was holding him. She hugged him a little tighter, hoping he could make these nightmares stop and erase everything.

James rocked Serena gently from side to side to sooth her, "It's okay. It's okay. You're okay. You're home, Serena. You're home safe and sound. Nothing's going to hurt you. Serrator's long gone."

Hearing his voice, realizing he was right, Serena started to calm down. But she did remember why she had gone with Serrator. She remembered why she had endured all that pain in the first place.

"Are you okay?" her first words in over a week. The very first time he heard her voice in more than a week, and she wanted to know if he was okay. He was still very much hurt, but he was so much better than she was. He wouldn't complain about how much his arm or ribs hurt, and how breathing was still a daily chore he needed to do to see another day. He had no right to complain. Self-inflicted pain deserved no sympathy.

"I'm fine," he promised her and pulled away slightly so he could look at her, "Serena, I'm so sorry."

Serena shook her head and leaned into him, needing him to be right there. James put his arms around her again and kissed the top of her head.

"Do you want to see the others?"

Serena nodded her head. James could feel it moving against his chest. He gave her a little squeeze and then got out of bed. Fortunately, most of her physical pain was exhaust and she was still fine to walk. It was good for James, because he could barely support himself on his feet, never mind another person. He did hold Serena close as he walked her outside, where the others would be training.

When he opened the door and got the attention of the Samurai, jaws dropped. No one expected Serena to wake up so soon. James helped her as much as she could down the steps. When she was on the ground, she felt something grab her legs. With how tired she was, it was almost enough to cause her to fall over. Looking down, the death-grip around her legs was Terran giving her a hug. She reached down, moved him away, dropped to her knees and pulled him back into her arms.

She showered his cheek with kisses, which Terran had come to love. He knew it meant mommy loved him. In return, he blew her several kisses once his shower stopped. He had missed her.

Serena smiled at her son and gave his forehead the final kiss before she looked up. There was Emily. The yellow Ranger knelt before Serena so they were at the same eye level. Then Serena lowered her gaze.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be silly," Emily pulled her sister in for a tight hug, somewhat squishing Terran between them. The little boy pulled his way out from his mommy and auntie sandwich and then started babbling in annoyance at Emily. Serena was his mommy, not hers.

Serena took him into her arms and then, with help from Emily, stood up. One by one, the others tried to hug her and welcome her back, but Terran always held his hand out, demanding they stop. After three Samurai hugs, he had enough and wrapped his little arms around his mommy to stop anyone else from doing so.

"He missed you a lot," Mia said.

Serena nodded her head and then headed back inside to spend some time with her son. She wanted him to know she was back. He normally wasn't so jealous.

James took a seat on the steps. He held his head in his hands. Then he felt a hand on his back. He looked up and saw the Samurai standing all around him.

"You got lucky, dude," Mike said.

"I'm really…"

"Sorry?" everyone finished for him. James nodded his head.

"Yeah."

"Never, ever, challenge a Nighlok, especially one as powerful as Serrator, by yourself, and we'll pretend this never happened."

"But you will still have to explain yourself to Serena," Emily said. "I think she deserves to know what was going on in that stupid, brainless head of yours."

"I'll talk to her," James promised.

The Samurai nodded and left him on the stairs as they resumed training. Emily walked to fight the dummy and Mike was right behind her.

"Serena's home," he whispered so the others couldn't hear, "What do we do?"

"Can everything just be normal for a little bit?" Emily asked. "I don't think we need to drop this bomb on them."

"Emily, you're pregnant."

"Yeah, I know. I was the one throwing up all night last night, remember? I will be the one pushing a human being out of my body."

"So what are we going to tell them when you start sitting out fights?"

"Sitting out?" Emily asked. She shook her head, "No way. After everything the Nighlok have done to me, you think I'm going to sit by for nine months?"

"Emily…"

"Serrator broke my sister," Emily growled. "He's not getting away with that, and he's not finding out I'm pregnant. No one is. I still have a duty to the team and the world. If I don't help, the world might flood. I'm not bringing a baby into a flooded Nighlok infested world."

"Okay, you have a point," Mike nodded, "but what if you get hurt."

"I won't."

"You're Emily. You've always got a bruise somewhere."

"Bruises don't kill babies."

"Training can kill baby. You can't always train with me. If the others don't know…"

"The point of training is to not get hit. I'll be fine, Mike. I don't need to be benched."

"Mike!" Kevin called, "You coming?"

"Just… work on the dummy," Mike gave the armoured training dummy a pat on the shoulder, "We'll talk about this later."


	19. Safety Matters

Serena lay in bed, with Terran by her side. He had fallen asleep hours ago, comforted by his mother's return. Serena wasn't so easy to reassure. She was back home safe and sound, and it seemed the team had forgiven her for what she had done while she had been Serrator's pet, but she still didn't feel at home. She had only been with Serrator for a week, but he had taken almost everything from her. It started with her speech, and slowly he stripped her down until he claimed her independence. Surviving from day to day for that week meant she had to rely on him for everything: food, shelter, a place to sleep, and even safety. Without him, she felt scared.

The fact that she needed him terrified her. She hadn't fallen asleep since she had woken up earlier that day, giving relief to the worried Samurai who were scared they would lose her, but she had had so many waking nightmares of her time with Serrator. She had so many flashbacks to what he had done to her, and what he had asked her to do. She was trembling.

A knock on the door startled her. She jumped up, lucky enough not to wake Terran and turned to the door. James walked in quietly. When he saw her awake he smiled a soft smile and approached the bed.

"I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Serena nodded her head. With the exception of a few words, Serena hadn't spoken since Serrator put the gag on her mouth. It had been his way of controlling her and it worked well. She couldn't fight back verbally, and the chains he kept her in prevented her from fighting back physically. Serrator had taken control, leaving her to only nod or shake her head. If she didn't give the answer he wanted, he made sure he got it the next time he asked.

That carried over. She knew she had no reason to be scared of her own words, but she was used to the silence and the fear, that it felt safer to live quietly, and to do what was asked of her.

James sat down next to her and put a hand on her lap, "Is it okay if we talk?"

Again, Serena nodded her head. She couldn't say no. If James wanted to talk, he would talk. He was in control.

"I'm so sorry, Serena," he whispered and lowered his head in shame. "When Emily told us Serrator came after you, and he wanted you, I felt useless, you know?"

Silence. The best answer was silence. Sometimes, no matter what she said, Serrator wouldn't like her answer.

"I'm your fiancé," James shrugged his shoulders, "One day, hopefully soon, I'm going to be your husband. Maybe it sounds stupid to you, but I need to feel like I can protect you. Do you have any idea how much it sucks watching someone you love run into battle, knowing you can't help them?"

Serena wanted to say something but didn't.

"I didn't go out looking for Serrator, but when he found me, it was stupid of me not to run. I put the team in danger, I put myself in danger, and worst of all is I let this happen to you. I'm so, so sorry. I wish I could make it up to you, but I don't think I ever can."

James took her hand, "I love you. I want you to know you mean everything to me. I'd have gladly died for you back there if it kept you safe, but I realized it didn't, and no matter the outcome, I would have hurt you. I promise, I'll leave the Nighlok to you. You're Superwoman, and I'll just have to get used to that."

He wrapped his one arm around her and pulled her in close. He kissed the top of her head and sighed, "This is the part where you yell at me for being an idiot. Everyone else has done it. I can take it. Whatever you want to throw at me, I can handle it."

Serena buried her face in his chest and hid. James pulled away and looked at her, "Serena, are you sure everything's okay."

She nodded. Anything but a yes would be a burden to James. No one liked burdens.

James refused to believe her. He took her in his arms and lay down with her in the bed, "I won't let anything happen to you. If you need a minute, you can take it.

Serena snuggled into James' arms. He was warm and she felt safe, much safer than she had ever felt with Serrator. He gently stroked her back and occasionally kissed her forehead.

"I'll listen, if you want to talk about what happened."

"I was a pet," Serena whispered. James smiled at the sound of her voice, but his heart broke when he heard how miserable she sounded. "I was a pet, but I wasn't a pet like Storm."

"You attacked Emily," James nodded his head, "Twice, I hear. Things must have been really bad to push you to doing that."

"He was training me for something. He's going to come back. He needs me, just in case."

"In case of what?"

"In case his first plan fails. He needs me."

James gave her a gentle squeeze, "I can't promise I'll be your knight in shining armour. I'll leave that to your little sister," he gave a little chuckle and then kissed the top of her head, "but I promise, if anything happens to you, I'll do all I can to help. I'll make sure I'm safe, and I'll make sure the Samurai are trying to help you, and that they do so safely, and I'll keep an eye on Emily and Terran. I can do that,"

He shifted around slightly and gently grabbed her chin, lifting her head so she was looking at him.

"But nothing's going to happen to you."

Serena nodded and nestled in even closer, wanting as little space between her and James as possible. He didn't know it, but he was protecting her now. She felt very safe with his arms around her. Eventually, her eyes were too heavy to stay open and she fell asleep. James continued to hold her, a little for her benefit, but mostly for his. He couldn't believe what had almost happened, and he couldn't believe she was back. He didn't want to let her go ever again.

Serena was asleep and didn't have any nightmares.

-Samurai-

Emily thought helping Serena through her pregnancy would prepare her for her own, but she was wrong.

Morning sickness was a lie. Emily knew that, but she had no idea just how quickly a love-hate relationship with her toilet would build. She was hugging the bowl, but desperate to get away.

Mike walked into the bathroom with a shake of his head. He pulled her hair back behind her shoulders and held it out of the way as she vomited one more time.

"If you barf up the kid, we won't have a problem."

"I thought you were mad at me," Emily flushed the toilet and went to the sink to wash up. She didn't know how Mike could be in the same room as her. She knew she stunk and she looked terrible.

"It's kind of hard to be mad at the woman carrying your child," Mike shrugged his shoulders, "Nine months of baking a human being is a huge favour. It's even harder to be mad when said woman is hugging a toilet bowl."

"I'll keep that in mind," Emily stuck her toothbrush in her mouth and then looked in the mirror. Mike wasn't mad, but judging by his expression he did still want to talk. She shook her head, "I have a duty…"

"You're pregnant."

"Whose fault is that?"

"Ours," Mike answered. "Emily, there's life inside of you…"

"And six other lives counting on me," Emily nodded. "I know it's risky, but there's no way I'm sitting by when I know this is it. Xandred's turned up once, he'll come back again as soon as he can. Serrator's hunting down Serena. Dekker's a psycho and Dayu's… a Dayu!"

"Which is exactly why we need to talk. Being pregnant is already serious business. Baby's fragile, Em. You can't run around taking hits all the time. Everything that happens to you happens to baby."

"But I can't just sit on the sidelines, Mike. Just because I'm pregnant now…"

"You shouldn't be taking unnecessary risks."

"And I won't!"

"Emily, you're not fighting the Nighlok! You could get hurt. You could lose the baby!"

"I know, I could lose the baby, but…"

"Do you want to lose the baby?"

"Of course not!" Emily shrieked. She picked up a spare roll of toilet paper and tossed it at Mike, "What kind of monster do you think I am?"

Mike caught the roll after it hit him in the face, "I'm sorry, Em. That's just what it sounds like…"

"So just because I don't want to see you get hurt, I'm the monster mother who'll sacrifice her unborn child's life?"

"No, but…"

"Get out!" Emily screamed. This time she reached to the tub and tossed the shampoo bottle at Mike's head. He caught it, set it down, and then obeyed her request, thinking of his own safety. As he rushed out, he bumped into Mia, and scurried away from her as quickly as possible. If she wanted to deal with Emily it was her own funeral. He muttered an apology, both for bumping into her and for sending the unaware pink Ranger into battle with his hormonal, pregnant, upset, stressed, terrified, and angered wife.

He was going to have to buy Mia flowers, or make her a garden. He would have to ask Kevin what her favourite flower was. It was the least he could do.

Mia saw Mike running off and wondered what could have scared him away from Emily. She had heard screaming from her room and rushed over to see what it was. If Mike was running away, it had to be bad.

She tip-toed into the room and then into the bathroom, where she found Emily on the floor crying. She fell to the yellow Ranger's side and pulled her into her arms.

"What happened? What did he do?"

Emily wrapped her arms around Mia. She couldn't tell her the truth. No one could know yet.

"I don't feel well."

"Why did Mike leave?" Mia asked, finding it weird Mike would leave his sick wife.

"Because we hate each other right now."

"Why?"

"Because we're fighting."

"Over what."

Emily shrugged her shoulders. Mia lifted her up and carried her to her bed. She sat down with her little sister and sighed.

"I know I'm not married," she brushed Emily's hair behind her ear, "but I remember my parents fighting a lot when I was a kid."

"Your parents are divorced."

"Before the divorce."

"That's still not comforting," Emily shook her head. Mia chuckled.

"Trust me; these weren't fights that led to the divorce. You're married now. It's a big step for both of you. It's only natural and healthy even that you two fight."

Emily touched her stomach. Mia hugged her.

"You and Mike are perfect for each other. You'll figure this out," she leaned in to kiss Emily's cheek and then pulled away, "You stink."

"I'm not feeling well," Emily reminded her. "Didn't you smell the bathroom?"

"Yeah," Mia nodded her head and got up, "I'll get you something to settle your stomach. Why don't you just take the afternoon off to rest up? Maybe when Mike comes back, you'll both have a clear head."

"I hope so."

"I know so. Think you can stomach toast?"

"Thanks, Mia."


	20. Nausea

Ji had promised Kate a big and fancy second date to welcome her home after her stay with Serrator, but with so many Rangers still so scared and with everyone so tense, they thought it wasn't smart to leave the house. Instead, they locked themselves away in Ji's room with sandwiches on paper plates. It wasn't ideal but neither cared. They were just happy to be back together.

"What you did was really brave," Ji told Kate as he handed out the napkins. "I know it is your responsibility to keep them safe, but no one ever would have expected you to throw yourself in Serrator's hands like that."

Kate shrugged her shoulder, "It wasn't as bad as I thought. Serrator was smart enough to keep me around, but he didn't bother with me much."

"You didn't know that would happen when you left."

"You would have done the same for Jayden," Kate smirked. "It's just what you do. They're grown up, but we still need to protect them."

"You did a really great job. You should be proud."

"She's home safe and sound. That's all that matters," Kate grinned, "and we know Serrator needs her for something. We know he's planning something big. Because of him, Serena's symbol power is much stronger. He wouldn't risk giving one of the Rangers that kind of power if he didn't have something to gain."

"I will keep my eyes and ears open," Ji promised. He reached out for his glass, figuring they had enough Samurai talk for now. This was supposed to be a date, not a meeting. He wanted to spend time away from his crazy with her. "Drama aside, how are you liking the city."

"It's weird," Kate chuckled. "It's so big and busy. And it's odd seeing the same faces at the stores every day, but having no idea who these people are."

"Emily once used the word cold."

"Sometimes," Kate nodded. "It's a big change, but it's interesting. Maybe, on a day off, you can show me around. All I know how to do right now is pick up groceries and call for pizza."

"Memorize that number," Ji smirked, "With Mike in the family, you will use it often."

"I guess I should get to know the pizza boy by name, then."

"Ours is named Ben. He thinks we're fancy and rich and anti-social, with a strange obsession for martial arts."

"Where would he get that impression? Certainly not from the big, beautiful house out in the middle of nowhere with training equipment thrown around on the lawn," Kate teased. Ji nodded his head.

"If only some people knew, right?"

"Have you ever thought of that? Kate asked. She set her sandwich down on her plate, "Have you ever thought what it would be like if everyone knew who you were and what you did?"

"Some secrets are best kept quiet," Ji said. "Those who need to know, know. Those who don't, don't have to share this burden."

"It's amazing what you and the Samurai do for these people. I can't imagine putting my life in danger every day, working for people every day, only to have them spit in your face when you're not wearing the spandex."

"Who spit in your face?"

"No one," Kate chuckled and shook her head, "I'm just thinking. People are mean. Even back home; the kids who picked on Emily have no idea who they were messing with. If they had any idea…"

"They would change," Ji nodded, "they would try to befriend Emily. They would be kind to her, but are they the people you want to see Emily hanging out with?"

"I guess not," Kate sighed. "Years after she's left, they're still talking about her in a bad way. Nothing happens back home, but you'd think they move on."

Ji smiled and reached out to put his hand on Kate's leg, "Sometimes it is a heavy burden to bear. Sometimes, it lets us see the truth. The spandex keeps them safe from Nighlok and from other humans."

"That's depressing."

"Welcome to the job," Ji smirked. He pulled Kate into his arms, "It's worth it."

"I missed you."

Ji smiled and kissed the top of her head, "I'm so glad you made it home."

-Samurai-

Terran was in the bedroom with James, spending some time with his father while Serena took some time to herself. She felt safe with James by her side, but knew that wouldn't work long term. He had convinced her to go and talk with the others, either about what had happened or just general chit-chat.

Serena only did as she was asked because she knew she had one big apology to make. It would be hard, for more reason than one, but she needed to do it, and she needed to do it properly.

She had heard Emily was going to spend the rest of the day in bed. She had overheard Mia talking to Kevin about Mike and Emily getting into a fight, and Emily not feeling well. Serena was sad to hear things weren't getting better for Emily and hoped maybe her little sister would let her help. She knocked quietly and opened the door. Emily was sleeping. She tip-toed to the side of the bed and then stopped.

"_Stop squirming," Serena watched as Kate growled at Emily, who had been pinned down and immobilized by her big sister and her aunt as they painfully tore into her skin with a knife. Emily screamed and cried and tried to get away but she was trapped. Serena could feel her trying to move and had to fight every instinct in her body to take Emily into her arms and kick Kate's ass._

_Kate didn't seem to be fighting many instincts. She had to mask her emotions. Serrator wanted to believe she didn't care for Emily, but Serena knew better. This was hard for Kate but it didn't show. That made it harder for Serena. What would Emily think about Kate? What would Emily think about her?_

_Kate dug the knife deep enough into Emily's shoulder to draw blood, and a painful scream ripped through the air. Unfortunately, this wasn't just a cut. Kate had to leave Serrator's name. She had to dig into Emily's shoulder and twist the knife around eight times, at least, to write out the letters of his name. Serena could see Kate was trying hard not to dig too far into Emily's shoulder to cause permanent damage, but she was no doctor. Her knowledge of the human body was limited. Emily would likely be scarred permanently beyond Serrator's name._

_Serena fought back the tears that were trying to flood her face. Serrator wanted her to pretend she didn't care for the Rangers anymore. He wanted them to break away from her. He knew she cared and he knew how hard this was for Serena, and he loved it._

_Later, Serena would learn that this incident alone raised the Sanzu Water's levels by three inches. That was a lot of water, a lot of pain, a lot of tears, and a lot of blood. Serena's hands, which were pinning down Emily's shoulders and upper back, were soaked in her sister's blood. By the time Kate was done, there was a small pool of the red liquid._

"_Let's go," Kate grabbed Serena by the arm and pulled her away, leaving Emily to lie on the ground alone and in pain._

Emily was sleeping on her side. Her injured shoulder was up and somewhat exposed. Serena carefully pulled on Emily's shirt, revealing the scar. It had healed nicely, but she could still read Serrator's name. She sobbed and it woke up Emily. The yellow Ranger sat up in bed and saw her sister standing beside her.

"Serena…?"

Serena threw her arms around Emily. She was very relieved when Emily did the same. She had been certain her sister would hate her. She was very lucky she didn't.

"I hate myself," Serena whispered and buried her head in Emily's shoulder, knowing that inches below was the scar.

"Why?" Emily asked.

"Does it hurt?"

Emily pulled away and looked down at her shoulder, finally realizing what her sister was talking about. She shrugged.

"Only sometimes now. Mia did good work with it. Apparently you can hardly see it."

"How's your arm? Your back?"

"Fine. A little weaker now, but I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me…"

"I'm not," Emily shook her head and hugged her sister again, "I'm fine. It's okay. I know why you had to do… to do…"

Emily gagged. She had no idea why this was still happening. She threw off the blankets and ran to the bathroom. She hugged the toilet again as the contents in her stomach defied gravity. Serena was instantly by her side, holding her hair and stroking her back.

"You're really sick?" she asked worriedly. Emily shook her head. She wasn't sick, sick, but she wouldn't tell Serena that.

"I'm fine."

"You should go to the doctor's…"

"I did," Emily assured her, "I went. Everything's fine. There's nothing wrong. I just have to wait for this to…"

"It's passing," Serena moved away from the toilet just a bit as Emily heaved into it again. "Are you sure?"

"A lot's been going on," Emily nodded. She flushed the toilet and went to the sink again to wash up and brush her teeth. She would be doing this a lot for the next little while. If she was anything like Serena, the nausea wouldn't last all through the pregnancy, but it would get pretty bad. For weeks, Serena and the toilet had been almost inseparable, especially in the early mornings. "I guess my body's just reacting to it now."

"Do you need anything?" Serena asked. Emily looked down at her stomach and touched it gently.

"My sister."

Serena smiled and nodded her head. When Emily was done brushing her teeth she went back to bed. Serena went with her and helped her get comfortable before leaving the room for a moment. When she came back she had a bunch of bananas and ginger ale.

"When I was pregnant, I stashed these in my room to fight off morning sickness," Serena chuckled. "They should help with whatever you have."

"That's where all our bananas went," Emily giggled. "You need to apologize to Monkey. Everyone thought she was stealing them."

"I'll apologize later," Serena smiled. She sat down next to Emily in the bed and peeled the first banana for her. "Eat up. It'll work like magic, I promise."

Emily nodded her head and took a bite, "What else did you do behind my back?"

For Emily, this was perfect. Serena had brought up the pregnancy, so Emily could ask questions without Serena getting too suspicious. Eventually she would let her sister in (she was going to have to at some point), but for now she would have to settle with subtly getting information from her experienced sister.

"I have a lot of stories to tell you."

"I have a lot of time," Emily nestled into Serena's arms. "Did you train when you were pregnant?"

"You saw me training," Serena giggled. "Are you throwing up your brains as well?"

"My stomach's gone. I have to throw up something."

"I trained. I took it easy, though. I was pretty tired."

Emily nodded her head and listened very carefully as Serena shared her stories. Some were fascinating and exciting. Others were terrifying.


	21. Doomed From The Start

It was late at night. Kevin was just finishing up getting ready for bed when he heard noises from the dojo. He put the book he had been reading on the bookshelf and then went to investigate. It had been a busy day for everyone and he thought they were all in bed. He slid the dojo door open and saw Mike beating the crap out of one of the training dummies. The poor human-like object didn't stand a chance. Kevin crossed his arms over his chest and watched, figuring it was safest to wait until Mike was a little calmer before approaching him.

Eventually, Mike gave up and went to the bench to have a drink of water. Kevin cleared his throat, catching the green Ranger's attention.

"You're going to have to show me some of your moves."

Mike shrugged his shoulders, "I thought you were in bed. It's past midnight."

"I was just on my way," Kevin said. "I'm not that anal."

"You used to be," Mike nodded. He made room for Kevin on the bench, "I guess this is where you ask me what's wrong and I say nothing."

"How about we skip that part and just go straight to the part where you tell me what's bothering you."

"How do you know something's bothering me?"

"You're beating on the dummy and I hear your wife's sick in bed. Shouldn't you be by her side?"

Mike groaned. How Kevin was able to criticize him even when he had no idea he was doing it, he would never know, but he was making Mike feel like a bad husband.

"Emily and I disagree on something and she asked for space. I gave it to her. Her wish is my command, apparently."

"So you're a genie now?"

"No."

"What did you disagree on?"

"Nothing."

"You're just fighting for fighting sake? Wow, if that the secret to a long marriage, you should write a book."

"Kevin, it's an issue between us."

"Is she pregnant?"

Mike's jaw almost dropped, but he managed to make his expression one of baffled horror, which Kevin read as a shocking, _"Why would you say that?"_ instead of what it actually was. Mike wanted to say yes. He wanted the Samurai to help him with this current mess, but he and Emily hadn't agreed on that yet. They couldn't even agree on what was best to keep their baby safe.

"Don't even joke," Mike shook his head, "Dude, that's not funny."

"It's kind of funny," Kevin smirked. He loved to tease his little brother. He gave him a pat on the back, "Besides, whatever it is, it can't be as bad as that."

"Yeah," Mike tried to play it cool. He was normally a good liar, but Kevin's comment had thrown him off, "C-Could you imagine Emily being pregnant. This would be terrible timing."

"The worst," Kevin nodded. "I mean, we'd be down a Ranger."

Mike gave a little smile, "What? Why?"

"Seriously? You can't figure that out? How many pregnant Rangers do you see running around? It would be too dangerous. You saw all the shit that happened to Serena when she was pregnant. Add that to the shit Emily gets herself into on a weekly basis, and nothing could ever survive."

"I guess that's a good point," Mike nodded his head, "I doubt she'd go for it, though."

"It's not like she'd have a choice. If Mia was pregnant, I wouldn't let her face a lone Mooger. It's too dangerous," Kevin looked to Mike with a smile, "So, what do you want to talk about?"

"Oh, uh…" Mike shrugged his shoulders and got up, "You know, now that I think about it, it's really nothing. She'll win this fight eventually anyways, right? Might as well sleep in my own bed tonight."

"You're learning," Kevin smirked, "The lady is queen, no matter how right we are."

"Thanks, dude," Mike smiled, "You know, you're smarter than you look."

"Thanks, Mike, I'm glad I could… hey, wait a minute!"

Mike laughed to himself as he hurried off to his room. Emily was asleep in bed so Mike slipped by. He would need to take a shower before crawling into bed next to her. With her nausea on high and the pregnancy still new, he had no idea what smells set off her vomiting and wanted to try and avoid as many triggers as he could. He took a quick shower and made sure he smelt fresh when he crawled into bed with her. His movements woke her up.

"I was talking with Kevin," he whispered in her ear, "I know you don't want to hear this from me, but he thinks you should sit out too."

"You told him?" Emily was wide away now and shot up. She looked down at Mike with a harsh glare, "We're not telling people yet, Mike! I just spent the day with Mia _and_ Serena and I didn't say a word to them! To my sisters!"

"Calm down," Mike sat up as well, "I didn't say anything. We just stuck to hypothetically."

"Because that's not suspicious."

"He's clueless, Em, I promise. Do you really think I'd do that to you?"

Emily grabbed her pillow and climbed out of bed, "I'm sleeping on the couch."

"Emily…"

"You're supposed to support me, Mike!"

"It's our kid, Emily. Don't you think I have a right to say what I think about all this?"

"Can't you just leave it alone?" Emily screamed. She slammed the door as she walked out. Mike groaned and fell back into the bed as he wondered where exactly that had gone terribly wrong. In the end, he deemed he had been doomed from the start. The moment the test came back positive.

In the hallway, Emily stomped away from her room, pillow in hand, desperate for somewhere to go. The couches weren't comfortable, and she was already tired and feeling sick from the pregnancy, as well as stressed out and frustrated because of Mike and everything else that had happened. She didn't need sore muscles when she woke up in the morning.

Hugging her pillow to her chest, she quietly opened one of the bedroom doors and poked her head inside. Seeing the residents of the room tucked away in bed, Emily tip-toed over and knelt by the side of the bed.

"Serena," she whispered and hoped her sister would wake up. Serena had never once hesitated to help Emily, no matter the time of day. "Serena, wake up."

Serena rolled over, "Can't it wait? I'm asleep."

"My heart's hurting and I'm really, really scared. Can I sleep with you?"

"Your heart is hurting?" Serena sat up slightly. That wasn't a good sign. Her sister had been sick earlier that day.

"Mike and I got into another fight," Emily nodded, "And I'm scared they're going to get worse and worse."

"Just tell him he's right," Serena grumbled. "Men like to hear they're right."

"Yes, we do," James whispered. It seemed Emily had woken him up.

"Sorry, James."

He lazily lifted a hand, waving to her that all was forgiven as he rolled over to try and sleep again. Serena just looked to Emily.

"What's going on with you, Munchkin?"

Emily shrugged her shoulders, "Can I please sleep here with you? I brought my pillow."

"Climb in," Serena nodded and lifted the blankets. Emily crawled into bed, but instead of laying on the outside, beside Serena, she nestled in between her sister and James, making herself comfortable in the middle.

"I hate you, Emily," James muttered as he was forced to readjust the blankets and get comfortable with less bed space.

"I love you, too," Emily cuddled into her sister's arms, needing to be next to her.

Serena sighed and held her little sister close. She didn't mind Emily crawling into her bed. Not only did it bring back memories of when Emily was just a little girl and would have nightmares, but it was a good feeling having Emily back in her arms, James nearby, and Terran in the room with her. She kissed the top of her sister's head.

"If you ever want to talk, Emy, you know I'll listen. I'll…"

"She's probably asleep," James whispered. Serena looked down and sighed. He was right. She knew he was grinning as he asked her, "What do you say?"

"Lucky guess."

"Wrong. Try again."

"It's predictable."

"One more time."

"You're right."

"That wasn't so hard," James chuckled. He pulled the blanket up to his chin, "Goodnight, Serena."


End file.
